Little BFTE Haul

I was perusing the BFTE (Beauty From the Earth) website and stumbled across a blush named "Babycakes".  Now, this might be too much information, but "babycakes" happens to be what my husband and I call each other.  I showed him the blush, and he actually told me I had to get it.  The fact that it is a pink blush with little sparkles that I knew I would love was just a bonus.  So, I placed a little order with BFTE (which is an indie company that has mostly loose pigment eyeshadows, blushes, and mineral face products).  Here's what I ordered:

Look at the pretty little bag!

I bought a full size Babycakes blush.  The full size blushes come in 10 gram sifter jars with 2 grams of product.

BFTE Babycakes Blush (heavy swatch)

sparkles!

Here is Babycakes blush on my face:

I have Marc Jacobs lipstick in Have We Met? on my lips

I also bought 3 sample eyeshadows: Miracle, Heat, and Harvest.

I've swatched the eyeshadows dry and over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy for your viewing pleasure.

from left: Miracle, Heat, Harvest

Harvest just seems like a perfect color for fall.  And just look at Miracle.  Look at it!

Like the other BFTE stuff I have, I am impressed by everything I ordered.  Also, shipping and turn around time was incredibly fast.

BFTE has an absolutely amazing array of colors, and it's hard to choose just a few to buy.  I want them all, of course.

Do you have anything from BFTE?  What colors would you recommend?

Eve's Kiss EotD with Sleek Garden of Eden

The name of this post is simply the name of the main color of eyeshadow on the lid called "Eve's Kiss" from the Sleek Garden of Eden palette.  Creative, right?

I am really loving this palette, by the way.

P.S.  Scroll down for some broken limbs.

With flash:

Daylight bulb:

I used:
  from the Garden of Eden palette:
             Eve's Kiss (shimmery sparkly lavender) on the moving lid and inner corner
             Paradise on Earth (shimmery sparkly purple) in the crease
             Python (shimmery sparkly brownish plum) in the outer v and lower lashline
             Flora (matte plumish brown) in the upper part of the crease
 

   Wet 'N' Wild Brulee Color Icon shadow single under the brow to blend Flora
   Sonia Kashuk Long-Wearing Gel Eyeliner in Ebony on the upper lashline and lower waterline
   Urban Decay Perversion Mascara

from left: Eve's Kiss, Paradise on Earth, Python, Flora, Brulee

I'm trying out the Urban Decay Perversion mascara that I got in my Ipsy bag (the only thing that excited me), and it seems pretty good.  I'm not sure that it performs too much differently than Maybelline's Full 'N Soft though.

Some excitement and broken limbs from a couple of days ago (a storm with crazy wind passed through) :

Amazingly, thankfully, and luckily, nothing got damaged.  Not even the Japanese maple (the little red tree in the photo) that looks like it got squished.

Were you expecting broken leg or arm pictures?  ;)

Have a great day!

Sample Time Part 2

This is Part 2 of my sample reviews, continued from yesterday.

Supergoop Sunscreen Swipe -- This seems like a really great invention.  A cloth wipe impregnated with sunscreen sounds so easy to use.  Unfortunately, the cloth kind of dragged and pulled on my skin, and I didn't feel like I was covering my arms and legs thoroughly enough to get the full SPF 30 protection.  I ended up applying some lotion sunscreen on top just to make sure I was covered.
Buy it?  No.

Vita Liberate Luxury Tan -- This is a darkly tinted self-tanning lotion.  I made the mistake of applying it without gloves or a mitt, and it stained my hands.  It seemed kind of hard to blend, and it looked fairly uneven the next day.  It also faded in blotches, and definitely didn't last 2-3 weeks as it claims.  One good thing about it was the lack of self-tanner smell.
Buy it?  No.  I'll stick to the St. Tropez mousse.

Marula Cleansing Lotion -- I wanted to try this because of the claims about marula oil having more antioxidant activity than argan oil (which I use and love).  This cleanser has a thin, lotion texture.  I unfortunately didn't make a note of if it was scented or not, but it must not have been strongly so if I can't even remember if it was.  This did not work for me.  It was very uncomfortable on my skin and I started to feel a burning sensation, so I rinsed it off quickly even though I hadn't finished washing my face.  I looked at the ingredient list AFTER I used it and discovered it has tons of irritating plant oils and extracts.
Buy it?  No.

LORAC FACE selfTANtalizer  -- Another self-tanner sample.  This one was extremely tinted, and not just a brown tint.  It looked almost metallic.  Unfortunately, for as darkly tinted this was on application, it gave my skin almost no color after I washed off the indicator tint the next day.  I still can't get over how shimmery the indicator color was.
Buy it?  No.

Givenchy Phenomen'eyes Mascara -- This is probably the most interesting sample I've tried recently.

The packaging for the sample gave me fits.  I could not figure out how to open it, so I finally jabbed some scissors into it, hoping I could pull out the little wand I knew was hiding in there.  I didn't think the round orb would be the bit with the mascara on it, so I tried to pull it out from that end.  Unfortunately, I was wrong.  I ended up with mascara all over my hands.  Once I got the wand out of the funky blister pack, I was able to use it (I hadn't crushed it completely).  I actually really liked how my lashed looked with the mascara, and the spiked mace of an applicator was interesting and pretty easy to use.  But, the sample pissed me off so much, that I decided I would never buy the mascara.  Furthermore, it's $30 USD, which is reaching the limit of what I would pay for a mascara.  Also, I was only able to get one use out of the sample, which had dried up completely by the next day, so I didn't get to really give the mascara a full trial.
Buy it?  No.

I didn't have much success with these 5 samples, except for actually using them.

What's the best thing you've sampled lately?

Sample Time Part 1

True confession: I am a sample hoarder.  I love getting samples when I buy stuff.  They are cute!  And more importantly free!  But I almost never use them. *sheepish look*  I do use fragrance samples, which can be dangerous because I find so many perfumes I like, but skincare, haircare and even makeup samples are a different story.  I rarely use skincare samples because I already have a skincare regimen that I like and that works for me, and I don't want to mess it up or have my skin react poorly to something.  I am kind of lazy when I comes to my hair, so I usually just put a little leave-in conditioner in my hair, scrunch it, and go.  I blow-dry and style my hair maybe 3-4 times a year, so I really never use hairstyling product samples.  I forget to use makeup samples, because I have so much makeup to choose from already.  So when I use up some samples, it's something to write home about.  Or at least here on the blog.

I decided to break this up into 2 posts with 5 samples each.

On to the mini-reviews!

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden -- I love the original Primer Potion, so I was excited to try Eden, which has a tint and looks almost like a concealer.  This worked well to even out any discoloration on the lid, as well as make my shadows more vibrant and longer-lasting.  I do feel like it kind of changes the color of shadows, though, which I didn't like.
Buy it?  No.  (I'm planning on buying the Anit-Aging Primer Potion)

Ouidad Moisture Lock Leave-In Conditioner -- I use leave-in conditioners are styling products, so I'm always happy to try a new one.  This stuff is lotion-y textured and easy to work with.  Ouidad is a brand that caters to curly hair, and I think this leave-in conditioner works well with my hair.  It doesn't feel weighed down or greasy, and it didn't get frizzy.  The sample was large enough to use several times, and I quite liked the results.  I just scrunched this into my hair and let it air dry.
Buy it?  Yes.

Caudalie Premiere Cru The Cream -- This moisturizer was pretty nice.  Thick and emollient, it felt very nice and left my skin soft.  However, it is rawther expensive, and the ingredients aren't special enough to warrant the price of $158 USD.
Buy it?  No.

Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha-Beta Glow Pad -- I was hoping these easy to use self-tanning pads would be somehow different from the Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha-Beta Daily Peel Pads that irritate the hell out of my skin.  Unfortunately, my skin burned and stung like crazy as I used it.  All the alcohol and irritating plant extracts are terrible for the skin, and I should have known better, but I wanted to try it anyway.
Buy it?  No.  I would not recommend any of his Alpha-Beta pads.  If you want a good chemical exfoliant with both alpha and beta hydroxy acids, I would recommend the Paula's Choice Resist Daily Smoothing Treatment.

Paula's Choice Resist C15 Super Booster -- I actually bought the little bottle you see in the photo for a few dollars.  It lasted me for a couple weeks, and really gave me a good chance to try the product.  This has a light, watery texture that leaves the skin only slightly sticky.  I think it is best used under a serum or moisturizer.  It has a little bit of the "vitamin c serum" smell that all vitamin c products have, but not enough to make using the serum unpleasant, like some serums.  I'm not sure I saw much of a difference in my skin, but a one or two week trial of a skincare product is not enough time to really see anything.  A sample is really just to determine if you like the product and your skin can tolerate it.  Kinda pricey at $45, but paulaschoice.com often has sales.
Buy it?  Very possibly.  I would like to have a good vitamin c serum in my skincare regimen.

Are you a sample hoarder like me?

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!

7th Wedding Anniversary

My husband and I are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary today!

Our ceremony took place in the Butterfly House of the Detroit Zoo.

The veil is an heirloom that my grandmother, great aunt, mother, and aunt wore for their weddings.

Definitely the best day of my life.

Sniff sniff.  Thank goodness my husband had a handkerchief handy.

We have a little ornament picture frame with our favorite wedding photo hanging on the fridge.

Note: The pics of the weeding in this post are photos of photographs, which is why the quality isn't so great.  I probably should have dug out the cd with the photos on it, but I was feeling lazy.

We had a nachofest for dinner last night as our anniversary dinner.

Nachofest is seriouz biznezz in our house.

Throwback Thursday With NARS

NARS used to have liquid eyeliners in nail polish-type bottles.  I believe they were introduced around 2001.  The three that I own probably date from 2005.  I'm not sure when they discontinued this type of packaging.

The shades I have are Neverland, Showgirl, and Silkwood.

There weren't any brushes included with these, so you had to supply your own.

Here are some swatches I did using q-tips.

from left: Neverland, Showgirl, Silkwood

The colors are pretty awesome, aren't they?  I think I used these once or twice and I kind of remember not being very good at applying them.  I'm now afraid to use them because they are so old.  I think they are destined for the trash.

I received these as gratis when I was working at Sephora years and years ago.

Shimmery Copper Bronze Eyes of the Day

I love shimmery eye makeup.  (And the rest of the face, really, but lets stick to the eyes today.)

I used Mally Evercolor Shadow Stick in Topaz, a rich, shimmery, reddish coppery brown, as a base for this look on the lids and lower lashline.

Topaz is incredibly creamy, but "dries" quite quickly, so super fast blending is required in order to soften any edges.

Mally Evercolor Shadow Stick in Topaz swatch

I used the incredibly shimmery LORAC TANtalizer Baked Bronzer all over the lid, into the crease, and the lower lashline.  I actually prefer using this bronzer as an eyeshadow, and not so much as a bronzer on the face because it is SO shimmery.  I used theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer, a beautiful shimmery gold highlighter, under the brows and in the inner corner.

from left: theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer, LORAC TANtalizer Baked Bronzer

from left: LORAC TANtalizer Baked Bronzer, theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer

To darken the crease, I did use a matte shade.  It ended up looking not matte and pretty shimmery because it was blended into the shimmery bronzer shade.  I chose to use Sable, a matte warm chocolate brown, from the LORAC PRO Palette as the darker crease color.

For liner on my lower waterline, I used Tarina Tarantino Hyperliner in Tommy Jet, a black eyeliner.  Maybelline Full 'N Soft was the mascara I used.

from left: Sable from the LORAC PRO Palette, Tarina Tarantino liner in Tommy Jet

More photos of the shimmery eye makeup:

I think this shot shows just how shimmery the Mary-Lou Manizer is as a highlight under the brow.

I tried to include the word "shimmery" as many times as I could in this post.  I'm not sure I used it enough, so... shimmery shimmery shimmery shimmery.  There you go.

Have a wonderful day, friends!!