Charlotte Tilbury Haul

Yep.  I did it.  I bought some Charlotte Tilbury stuff that was on my wish list.  And I'm glad I did.

A Little Luxury (Haul)

I bought some fancy makeup recently.

First, my little haul from Beautylish.  If you are ever considering buying something from Beautylish (beautylish.com), you should totally do it.  They have free 2-day shipping on orders over $35 USD.  Everything was packed really carefully, and they even included a personalized note.  Oh, and if you create an account, you receive a $10 off a $50 purchase promo coupon thingy.

The little bag was slightly ripped, but there was so much padding around it that there was no damage to anything.

Favorites of March 2015

It's (kind of) the beginning of a new month.  You know what that means.  Favorites time.

Favorites of February 2015

We are finally out of the longest shortest month in recent memory.  The snowy weather and bitter cold has been brutal.  I mean, it would be less insulting if it was, say, mid-January, but late February and feels like -9°F?  C'mon Mother Nature.  (It's now the first week of March, and today it's a balmy 21°F (but feels like 7°F).)

Anyhow, it's time to focus on some good stuff, so let's get to some favorites.

Furry blanket background today!

Physicians Formula Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil Blush Swatches and Review

I saw some promo images for these a few weeks ago and knew I was going to have to have one of them once I found them in the drugstore.

Beautiful packaging and presentation sells stuff, my friends.

They showed up in my local CVS a couple of weeks ago -- much earlier than I expected them to.  I had only seen the picture of the "Rose" shade, so I thought there was only one blush color, and I had only planned on buying the one blush.  To my surprise, there are two shades, "Rose" and "Natural".  I stood in CVS for I don't know how long trying to decide which one to get, but I seriously couldn't decide.  So I bought them both.  Sheesh.  I had some Extra Bucks, and there was a deal where you get $10 Extra Bucks with the purchase of two Physicians Formula products, so that made it better, but still.

Anyhow, on to the pictures!

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?

Throwback Thursday with LORAC

Does anyone remember the LORAC Cheek Stamps (c. 2008)?

The packaging for these is rather neat, with the pressed powder blush housed in the bottom of the jar, and the lid screwing off to reveal a sponge that sits in the blush.

All you had to do to use them is to press or puff the sponge on the cheeks.  It's possible to apply too much blush this way, so sometimes blending with a brush was necessary.  You could also just use a brush to grab some of the blush from the bottom of the pot if you thought using a sponge was too yucky.

The blush is silky and quite pigmented.  There were maybe five shades available.

Pink Paradise is a cool, blue-based, matte pink.  Hibiscus is a warm pink with sparkle.

from left: Pink Paradise, Hibiscus

I really liked these and will still occasionally use them, although with a brush and not the sponge.

Cute and cool, right?

March 2014 Favorites

Yep.  I'm late with this.  But here they are in no particular order: my March favorites.

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant -- This salicylic acid liquid treatment has made a huge difference in the size of my pores on my nose.  I use it after cleansing on my nose every night.  I find that I have some dryness if I use it all over my face, so I stick to glycolic acid for exfoliating everywhere besides my nose.  Kind of odd to have one product specifically for the nose, but we use products specifically for the eyes and lips, so why not the nose?  Enough about my nose.

L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara (review) -- I'm so impressed by the length and drama this mascara gives my lashes.  The brush is fun to look at, too.

Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Moisturizing Lipstick in Blush Glow (review) -- I like how moisturized my lips feel while I'm wearing this lipstick.  Blush Glow is such an easy to wear pink that goes with everything.

Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Moisturizing Lipstick in Blush Glow swatch

Clinique Cheek Pop Blush Pop in 01 Ginger Pop -- Everyone and the kitchen sink has been raving about the Cheek Pop blushes, and for good reason.  So smooth and near impossible to over do, killer presentation, a decent price ($21 for a non-drugstore blush seems decent).  Ginger Pop is a slightly reddish coral that gives a satiny glow to the skin.

Clinique Cheek Pop Blush Pop in Ginger Pop swatch (heavy swatch for some reason)

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush -- Another very popular product this spring are the Ambient Lighting blushes.  Luminous Flush is a pinky coral that leaves the skin with a "lit-from-within" sheen.  The glow factor is more subtle here, with no discernible shimmer.  It's a beautiful blush to look at in the pan, too.  I was actually surprised that the packaging was a little lightweight.  I was expecting a heftier metal packaging, but it is just plastic.  Nice and shiny plastic, though.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush swatch

Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Kisses -- I have moved on from Junior Mints to dark chocolate kisses.  Science has shown a little dark chocolate is good for the heart.

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette -- I've been using this lots lately.  My favorite colors at the moment are Nooner for the crease, Limit to blend out the crease, Buzz or Trick for the lid, and Blackheart as a liner.

from left: Nooner, Limit, Buzz, Trick, Blackheart

What are your recent favorites?

Sephora + Pantone Universe Rush Luster Cheek Sweep Swatches

I received the Sephora + Pantone Universe Rush Luster Cheek Sweep in the mail today, and I thought I'd do some quick swatches for you.

Radiant Orchid

Spanish Villa

Bridal Rose

These are supremely silky, and the radiant orchid color seems to have a little bit of a staining effect (at least on the arm!).

I love the names of the colors.

I can't wait to put these on my face!

Wishlist: Blush Edition

I'm in the mood for new blushes.

Clinique Cheek Pop in Ginger Flush -- $21 at Sephora and Clinique counters

Darling Girl Cosmetics Fantasia Inner Glow Blush -- $5.90 (full size) at darlingirlcosmetics.com

Anna Sui Rose Cheek Color in Princess Rose -- $36 at beauty.com

Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush in Something About Berry -- $30 at Ulta and Sephora

I need all of these, don't I?

Sephora and Drugstore Haul

Cosmetics companies are so good at making us (me) constantly buy new things.  All the pretty new colors they constantly manage to introduce that aren't like anything else on the market or in my stash (:P), and the beautiful packaging that it really just a feast for the eyes.  Plus, Sephora occasionally comes out with some nice free stuff.  So, here is my latest haul.

From my local CVS where everybody knows my name (cue the Cheers theme song):

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hr Eyeshadow in Caramel Cool -- After seeing so many swatches of the Limited Edition Dare to Go Nude collection, I knew I had to have Caramel Cool.  I think copper colors are flattering for my eye color, and I don't actually have any cream shadows this color (surprising).

Maybelline Master Hi-Light Highlighting Bronzer in Light Bronze -- This is one that looks pretty in the pan, and I've read that these blush/bronzer/highlighter hybrids from Maybelline have a good formula.

Swatches of Caramel Cool eyeshadow and Light Bronze Hi-light Bronzer:

From Sephora (I used a gift card that my mom gave me for my birthday back in November):

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush -- I didn't jump on these during the VIB preview sale because I wanted to wait until I saw some swatches.  This one appealed to me the most.  I still kind of want Diffused Heat just because of the way it looks in the pan.

Swatch of Ambient Light Blush in Luminous Flush:

Also from Sephora:

MAKE UP FOR EVER Lab Shine Diamond Collection Lipgloss in D8 and D14 -- This set has 2 full-size lipglosses.  D8 is described as a shimmering baby pink, and D14 is a shimmering indian pink (p.s. what is indian pink?).  This is a $38 value for $16, so it seemed worth it.

Swatches of MUFE Lab Shine lipglosses in D8 and D14:

The free stuff from Sephora:

Balenciaga Rosabotanica EDP deluxe sample and printed scarf -- This was a 500 point perk.  I had been saving my points for a really long time, waiting for something cool to come along.  I decided to use them on this because the packaging of the perfume and the scarf looked really pretty.  The perfume itself smells really nice.  I am terrible at describing scents, so I'm not going to bother trying.  The large box in the group shot above contained the Rosabotanica set.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Eyeliner in Intense Black -- I think this was just a deluxe sample with any $25 purchase.  Sephora says this is one of their best-selling liquid eyeliners, so I figured this would be a good way to try it.  It has a nice calligraphy-style pen tip, which is my favorite kind of tip, so I'm looking forward to using it.

Swatch of Stila Waterproof eyeliner:

What have you been hauling lately?

P.S.  I have a feeling I need to update my pop culture references.