Naked2 On Sephora!

Hey, loves! Sorry for the huge lack of updates. I'm currently typing with one hand because I'm feeding my son. Soooo busy! I hope you all had a great holiday. My family and I had a wonderful Christmas. :)

Anyway, the Urban Decay Naked2 palette is officially up for sale on Sephora's website (it won't be in stores until the end of Janurary). HAPPY SHOPPING!! Be quick, it sells out fast!

Found image from here

In the mail...

Happy hump day! I got a few things in the mail today, one package from Sephora and one from MAC. Bear with me as I'm fiddling around with this Blogger app...

Edit: The Blogger app is a bust. Thank goodness I was playing with it at home because I had to run back to my mac to fix everything. All's well. :)

Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet+ #25

Benefit Erase Paste in Fair

NARS Pokerface nail polish

Fresh mini mascaras

MAC Peachstock lipstick

Catch Up Time!

I've been such a naughty blogger, huh?  Please bare with me, I'll be 39 weeks tomorrow. Baby is due anytime now so I apologize for not putting a lot of focus on the blog. Anyway, I quickly wanted to share some of my recent purchases with you...

MAC Parisian Skies and Hocus Pocus from Blogger's Obsessions

To quickly sum up my thoughts on the shadows, I expected to love Hocus Pocus more than I do. It's GORGEOUS, I just don't think it blends as well as I'd like it to. I still need to play with it more. Parisian Skies is a beautiful color. I'm not big on blue but this one is special. It's the kind of color that can work for a whole array of people. It's also very pigmented and the color payoff is excellent.

Parisian Skies

Hocus Pocus

Ulta: Seche Vite Top Coat, Butter London Nail Lacquer in Teddy Girl, Earth Therapeutics pumice stone and ceramic pedicure tool

Sephora: Benefit Legally Broze set, YSL Faux Cils mascara (deluxe sample), Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Jo'Mina, Happy Birthday, Beautiful! from Philosophy (my Sephora birthday gift!)

I already swatched the Legally Bronze set and I tested everything out, I just need to review it. Oh and I also bought something for the MAC Me Over collection that I can't wait to share with you guys. :)

I love value sets!

Okay, so last year Sephora released the limited edition "Legally Bronze" set from Benefit. I lusted for it and I kicked myself later for not buying it because A) I loved everything in it (except maybe the Bad Gal mascara but I'd use it anyway!) and B) the price was a steal for what you were getting. Now it's back in stock.

Remember me??

Everything in the set is full size. That's right, full size. If you're no stranger to Benefit, then you know their prices are pretty up there. For example, High Beam alone is $26, Hoola is $28, etc. Also, Gilded is featured in the set. I have one that I received a long time ago from a gift with purchase. Without giving away too many details (saving them for a review), this pencil rocks but it's no longer available for purchase on its own. The set retails for $38. Yes, $38 USD. I just ordered mine last night. I wanted to give you ladies a heads up in case you wanted to get your paws on it too. I'll give a more in-depth review of each product after I receive it.

Buy it here

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! :)

Sephora Stuff

Hey! Sorry for the lack of updates. I know that I've been an irregular poster since I got pregnant but life happens, right? Today is my daughter's SECOND birthday! Gahhhhhh, I'm so emotional right now! We're having a party for her on Sunday so this whole week has been incredibly chaotic so far.

Anyway, I just received a package from Sephora. I wanted to show you a few things I bought with my 10% VIB coupon.

Pictured:

Smith's Rosebud Strawberry Lip Balm: I LOVE the original so I'm bound to love this too, right?

Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner: I was reeled in by the brush. It looks like a winner for those who fail at applying liquid eyeliner (like me! haha).

Smashbox Photofinish Primer: I ran out of primer and although I have experience with a lot of them, I've never been formally introduced to the most famous of them all. I've tried a sample in the past but it was so long ago that I couldn't tell you what I thought of it.

Benefit They're Real! Mascara: A brand new mascara from Benefit. I'm almost nervous to try it because I never have much luck with the high end mascaras. I always buy mine from the drugstore (my favorites are The Falsies and Loreal Telescopic). I've bought Bad Gal in the past and hated the oversized brush. It did nothing for my lashes BUT I love Bad Gal plum for fall. I'll be sure to lend my two cents on this one, though.

Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray: I'm most excited and scared to try this. Mainly because it's $23 a pop and the bottle is TINY. It's suppose to give you textured beach hair. For the price, it better!

Tarte for True Blood Palette Swatches

Jeeeeeeeez, there's so much going on with this palette that I'm going to have to break it up into a three part ordeal. The next post will be for the primer, liner, mascara, eye shadow dupes, and roundup. This is going to be very picture heavy...

By the way, if you haven't seen my first post with sneak peek pictures of the shadows and packaging, click here to check it out.

Row 1, 2

The Light, Fairy

Dusk, Dawn

Werewolf, Waitress

Nocturnal

Row 3, 4, 5

Charmer, Glamour Me, Stake

Bayou, Telepath, The True Death

Immortal, Moss, Legend, "V"

Ever hear the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover"? To be honest, I was put off by some of these shadows when I swatched them on my arm. The mattes, were by far, the easiest to swatch (and had the nicest formula). Others, not so much (a few kicked up a lot of dust -- mainly, some the shimmery shades). However, when used with a primer, I noticed a HUGE difference. For the sake of example, I swatched two of the shadows using the primer that came with the palette:

"V", Immortal, without primer

"V", Immortal, with primer

Yowza! Huge difference, indeed! As you can see, a primer is absolutely necessary or else you'll be very disappointed. Overall, I'm impressed. The only one I consider to be a dud is "Nocturnal". Out of all the shadows, it's the least pigmented.

Tarte for True Blood Palette (Sneak Peek)

Happy Tuesday!! Here's a super quick (picture heavy post) of the limited edition Tarte for True Blood palette. Are you a Trubie? I sure as hell am! I have an appointment soon so I don't have time to swatch it until later. I must admit, based on Sephora's pictures, the shadows in this palette didn't look like anything special. Let me tell you, they're gorgeous in person.

Click to zoom

The packaging is slightly reminiscent of the UD BOS, no?

Keep on the look out for my swatches later!

Click here to see swatches of the eyeshadows!

You can purchase this palette ($52 USD) from Sephora. 

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush and Lip Care Stuff

On Mothers Day, I was able to goto Sephora but I was on a time limit. Luckily, I knew exactly what I wanted. A few posts back, I added Tarte's new Amazonian clay blush in Dollface to my wish list. Well, I got it! All of the colors are beautiful. I figured at $25 USD a pop, I would just buy one and if I liked it enough, I'd probably try out another one next time.

Contains 5.6 grams / 0.20 oz. of product for $25 USD

Dollface is the perfect light baby pink. It has a matte finish and for me, it lasts through the day. I can see this working on a variety of skin tones. It's nicely pigmented (though, I read that some of the other colors are even more pigmented) and blends easily into the skin. And, for those who love natural beauty brands, Tarte is right up your alley. Being completely truthful, organic / natural beauty brands don't affect my decision making. Meaning, I'm not overly concerned about product ingredients (or I'm not as concerned as I ought to be?). Anyway, would I buy this again? Yes, despite it being rather expensive, in my opinion. It's an over all great product with a small but eye-catching range of colors. There's something in this line for everyone. I'd like to try Blissful, Amused, and Flush next. What do you think? Have you tried it?

So, the lip care thing...

I'm going to start a new segment on lip care because I have chronic dry lips. Ten bucks says I'm not the only one. Flaky, icky, cracked, bleeding lips all year round. Kinda makes applying lipstick a bummer, huh? Although, that's pretty much my fault because I don't give them much TLC but I've decided to turn over a new leaf. I'm going to test various products ranging from drugstores to MAC to Sephora and whatever else I can get my hands on. I'm going to test each product on its own for a span of 3-4 weeks, then I'll report my findings to you. Sound good? I'm on a mission! Right now, I'm testing Smith's Rosebud Salve. I'll let you know the verdict in about two weeks. 

Stuff I wanna show you!

My mom gave me a gift card for Sephora so I used it... right down to the last dollar! This was an online purchase, by the way...

'

From left to right:

Sample of Daisy by Marc Jacobs

Urban Decay Shadow Box

Sample of Tarte ReCreate primer

Down Boy blush from theBalm

Deluxe sample of Tarina Tarantino's primer

I tried everything except Tarina's primer. My daughter somehow got her hands on it and now I have no idea where it is. Boo! I photographed and swatched the eyeshadows and the blush so I'll get that uploaded in a bit. I'm particularly excited to share the blush. I'm becoming quite a fan of theBalm. ;)

MAC & Sephora Goodies :)

Yesterday, I picked up a few things at MAC from the Cham-Pale collection (now in stores and online in the US). I also saw the Stylishly Yours collection. I wasn't wowed by anything in particular, but overall, I liked what I saw. I'm a golden, sparkly, neutral lovin' woman so Cham-Pale was right up my alley. Then today, I received my package from Sephora.

Click the picture to zoom in

I'm sorry if the picture quality isn't fantastic but I'm using my backup camera until I get my baby back! So here's what I got:

Benefit - Bella Bamba

Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet+ (Shade: 25)

MAC Special Reserve Highlight Powder in Rose Ole

MAC Fix+ Lavendar

MAC Chromagraphic Pencil in NC15/NW20

I'm excited to test this stuff out, except for the foundation because I already know how fantastic it is. However, I would like to formally discuss in a future post my personal opinions on Mat Velvet+ versus the HD foundation. As for the Chromagraphic pencil, I wanted that sucker since Pret-A-Papier but it sold out before I could get my paws on it. I'm also interested in Fix+. From what I read, it's like a love / hate thing. I've never used it before but I hear that you either can't live without it or it's just nothing more than special water. I haven't used Bella Bamba yet, but it smells just like watermelon. Seriously, it's yummy! I was just surprised by how small it was compared to the other boxed powders. Last but not least, the highlight powder. Originally, I was going to buy both of them (the other being Chez Chez Lame) but I don't think it's worth having both. They're really pretty, but not essential. I think I was drawn in by the pretty design but I'll give you a better review when I try everything out. 

Hello Kitty Beauty for Sephora

Sephora is having an exclusive two-day private event for beauty insiders (it's free to sign up!) where you can purchase from the line of Hello Kitty Beauty. The event starts today (December 18th) and ends tomorrow night at 11:59 PST. The line of cosmetics will officially release in stores and online sometime in mid-January. Click here to shop!

The line consists of lip products, mirrors, eye kohls, nail polishes, eye shadow sticks, blotting papers, fragrance, a mini brush set, a blush stick, and more. Maybe I'll buy something but I'm not sure yet. Some of the prices seem fair and proper except for the blotting papers. $12 USD for blotting papers. Really? However, I have my eye on the apple cheeks blush stick and the set of mini eye kohls. I'm just a little hesitant because MAC's HK collection was nothing short of amazing. I'll try not to let my partial bias stand in my way though. Are you buying anything?

Source: Info and images from Sephora

PS: Sorry I haven't posted in over two days. With Christmas sneaking up, I've been so busy. I STILL have to wrap my daughter's gifts BUT I have to wait until she goes to sleep. Sadly, she doesn't go to bed until late so when she passes out, so do I. I feel like I never have time on my side!