Korres QUINCE Lip Butter Glaze Swatches and Review

The Korres Pomegranate Lip Butter Glaze was such a hit that I decided to add another shade to my lip arsenal.  The Quince shade seemed to be rather popular, so I went with that one.  I had to order sight unseen because my local Sephora doesn't carry the Korres lip products, and Quince was the safest bet.

What the Sephora Website has to say about Korres Lip Butter Glaze:

What it is:
A line-smoothing, buttery lip glaze in a tube.

What it does:
This lightweight, soothing lip butter imparts vibrant and shiny color, smells utterly delicious, and comes packaged in an easy-application tube.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Petrochemicals
- Phthalates
- GMOs
- Triclosan

Sephora is the exclusive beauty retailer for this product.
Size: 0.34 oz

Quince actually had less pigment than what I thought it would, but makes a nice, neutral lip for your every day running around.  I love the Lip Butter Glaze because they're so demure and easy to apply.  They keep your lips moisturized and shiny. 

Korres Lip Butter Glaze retails for $14.00 and can be purchased at Sephora.

***This post contains an affiliate link.  For more information please see my disclosure policy.

Too Faced NATURAL FACE PALETTE Swatches and Review - Spring 2012

Too Faced has come out with some serious winners this season.  For Spring 2012 they have shown us some beautiful new sets and amazing new palettes.  One of the new and more intriguing palettes from this brand is the Natural Face Natural Radiance Face Palette.

What the Sephora website has to say about the Too Faced Natural Face Natural Radiance Face Palette:

What it is:
This multitasking face palette contains the six essentials that you need to create a warm, allover glow anywhere you go.

What it does:
This thoughtfully selected assortment of natural, sun-kissed shades delivers a healthy, no-makeup look that is irresistibly sexy. The mirrored palette features a universal luminizer, brightener and concealer in neutral shades, cream and powder cheek options, along with a golden-bronze veil for instant radiance.

What else you need to know:
Too Faced's versatile face collection can be used with your favorite complexion products, applied alone to naturally conceal and highlight, or for quick touch-ups. Three, how-to lesson cards demonstrate application techniques and color placement.

This set contains:
-0.28 oz Bronzing Veil
-0.1 oz Crème Blush
-0.11 oz Powder Blush
-0.05 oz Concealer
-0.06 oz Luminizer
-0.05 oz Brightener

I am in love.  Enamored.  Each of these products is a beautiful shade, and a breeze to apply.  I used the same face products underneath, foundation and powder... but the placement of these products truly gives your face a brand new and flawless look.  DH even commented on how nice my face looked without me asking lol that NEVER happens.

The blush shades swatch rather dark, but since you're just patting them on lightly (for the cream shade, I suggest using two fingers rather than a brush) the result is a nice flush.

The only con I see from this palette is I don't think that it will be very favorable on darker skin tones.  The shades are listed as "neutral" but the concealer and brighten are pretty light.  Hopefully the popularity of this palette will take off and Too Faced will make a few other variations.

Another great feature is the included three cards that give you a general idea on how to use the six face items in this palette.  Looking at the cards, I was initially put off.  Do not be scared of these cards!  After I tried the first one, Day Glow, I was amazed at how my face looked.  I think that the products do an excellent job themselves, but the application DOES make a difference.  There are also two other cards to make you look Classic, or Supermodel.

The Too Faced Natural Face Natural Radiance Face Palette retails for $39.00 and is currently available at Sephora, Ulta, and TooFaced.com.  Sephora doesn't have this marked as limited edition, thank God, so hopefully it'll be around for a long time!

Chanel LA RAVISSANTE, LA RAFFINEE, L'EXUBERANTE, and LA FASCINANTE Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick Swatches and Review

Confession.  I didn't buy ANY of these when they launched.  I was actually at the Chanel counter on the day they unpacked the shipment box.  The MA was wearing one and it just looked crazy bad.  Dry and fading... just not a pretty picture.  I vowed to stay far, far away.

This past week I did a Chanel.com order and one of the samples was a card of 4 of the Rouge Allure Velvet Lipsticks - La Ravissante, La Raffinee, L'Exuberante, and La Fascinante.  So, I exfoliated the lips like crazy and got to swatching.  It actually wasn't as bad as I expected!

What Neiman Marcus has to say about Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick:

Elevating matte to a new elegance, this next-generation, non-drying matte lipstick glides on lips with intensely rich color and a sumptuously soft, velvet matte finish.

 (L-R: La Ravissante, La Raffinee, L'Exuberante, and La Fascinante)

While still not my favorite of the Chanel Lipstick line, the Rouge Allure Velvet Lipsticks are no where NEAR as dry as I was anticipating.   I thought my favorite on would be La Ravissante, but La Raffinee has captured my heart.  These lipsticks sink into your lips and leave a bit of a stain, so if you have a gloss handy you can check up on yourself and not look all battered and dry.  I loved applying the shades with the finger, because it left a nice, smooth tint effect, rather than just glopping on a whole lot of color. 

La Ravissante

La Ravissante (translation - the beautiful) looked peachy on the card, but swatched on the arm almost like a melon and peach mix.  On the lips it definitely hit off as more peach, though it might be more melon on someone with a deeper lip pigment.

La Raffinee

La Raffinee (translation - the refined) was my fave of the four.  The easiest to pull off with it's rosy pinkness.  Classy, yet flirty.  I actually expected it to be a bit darker on the lip, however was happy with the result.

L'Exuberante

L'Exuberante (translation - the exuberant) is a very bold and pigmented hot pink.  I actually liked this better just pressed lightly onto the lips, but swatched a bit more heavily above to show off the true color and pigment.  If you love this color, but the WOW factor has you holding back, try just dabbing it onto your lips and pressing together.  It's a nice tinge of pink that'll give you that shade you want for Spring, but won't make you feel like you need to constantly be questioning yourself.

La Fascinante

La Fascinante (translation - the fascinating) is a red with pink undertone.  I actually thought this would wear more fuchsia on me, but it actually ending up being a nice cherry red.  Like maraschino cherries.

The next time I'm at the counter I'm going to give these a go and pick up one or two.  I feel bad that we got off on the wrong foot and had such a horrid first impressions meeting.  Does it need a gloss paired with it?  Absolutely.  Maybe you can get away with just the lippie here, but I can't, even after heavy exfoliation.  Are they beautiful and worth getting at least one?  YES.

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipsticks retail for $32.50 and can be purchased at your local Chanel counter or at Chanel.com.  All shades are marked on the Chanel website as Limited Edition.

Physicians Formula I HEART ROSE and I HEART NUDE Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Lipsticks Swatches and Review - Spring 2012

How cute are these?!  Physicians Formula is good at the charming products and packaging to draw you in, but does the product live up to the claim of Glow & Mood Boosting?

Previously, I've reviewed the Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Blush in Natural and in Rose.  These blushes with their whimsical little heart shapes were all the rage in the makeup world, and seemingly hard to find.  They are still around today (though I'm not sure if they are still available in these particular shades) and some are featured on the display with the Glow & Mood Boosting Lipsticks.

 I Heart Rose

I Heart Nude

 (I Heart Rose, I Heart Nude)

I Heart Rose

I Heart Rose is a bright and rosy, cool pink.  The perfect pink pucker for Valentine's Day!!

I Heart Nude

I Heart Nude is a beautiful peachy shade (it makes me think of candy, for some reason) but looks nothing like you think it would by the name.  For nude, you think tan colored, light, mocha... not peach.  But it's a nice alternative for the warm toned who can't pull off I Heart Rose.

These shades both went on smoothly, though the tube is big, so you need to be aware of placement so as not to go over your lip line.  The formula is light and not sticky.  If you don't want it, you won't need a lip gloss over top.

Overall, even if you're not a fan of Valentine's Day, these lipsticks are something to check out.  They are WAY cute.  While I'm pretty positive that these lipsticks won't chemically raise your mood, it sure does make me happy and fluttery to look at the little hearts on top of the lippies.

PSA - don't JUST buy them for that little heart.  The I Heart Nude one disappeared almost completely after 2 uses and the I Heart Rose is fading fast after 2.  Apparently they don't go all the way down.  ALSO.  Pay attention to how you cap the lipstick.  I all but destroyed I Heart Nude because I put it on a little backwards.

Physicians Formula Happy Glow & Mood Boosting Lipsticks retail for $8.99 each, but when I bought mine at Ulta they were buy one get one half off =D I've seen these at every local drug store around here, so if you haven't spotted them yet, don't fear!  They'll be there soon!

Juicy Couture TROY SURRATT 24 KARAT COUTURE LIPGLOSS and DEBORAH LIPPMANN HERE COMES THE QUEEN Nail Polish Set Swatches and Review

This is my 1,000 post!!!  EEEE!  *celebratory dance* Okay, now that we have that out of the way.... =D

Over the holidays, Deborah Lippmann got with Juicy Couture and made some festive sets.  I had actually only thought there were trios of nail polish released, but on an after holiday jaunt to the mall I saw a set (hidden, mind you, buwhahahha!) of a flashy golden Deborah Lippmann top coat and some sort of champagne bottle lookin' thing.

Upon further investigation I saw the champagne bottle looking thing was in fact a Troy Surratt 24 Karat Couture Lip Gloss (which the salesgirl told me was totally clear, you'll see later she was wrong).  Seeing as how the name didn't ring a bell, I decided to educate myself by searching the interwebs.
Please enjoy this short bio on Troy Surratt from Teen Vogue:

Troy Surratt spent his childhood dreaming of beauty and fashion—and of getting out of the Midwest. After high school, he picked up and moved to New York City to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. In between classes and studying, Surratt found time to assist renowned fashion designer Randolph Duke. But the gowns on the runway didn't draw him in as much as the behind-the-scenes creations of the makeup artists, so Surratt shifted gears to focus on beauty. Shortly thereafter, his work caught the attention of makeup legend Kevyn Aucoin, further catapulting Surratt's career. Surratt went on to help launch beauty brand Tarte, act as a spokesperson for online retailer beauty.com, and work with dozens of starlets along the way, from Zooey Deschanel to Charlize Theron. But this fast-paced lifestyle hasn't altered his simple yet fearless philosophy: "At the end of the day, it all washes off. So why not go for it?" —MAURA LYNCH

I assume this is the right bio since the other Troy Surratt I found is working for the U.S. Air Force Academy.

On the the photos and review!

 (outdoors, with flash)

 (outdoors, no flash)

This is such a gorgeous set to look at, it's no wonder that it jumped out at me, even while hidden.

As you can see, the Troy Surratt 24 Karat Couture Lip Gloss is not clear on the swatch, but rather a beautiful, shimmery gold.  On the lips, you can see the shimmer a BIT, but not so much that it's garish.  I found the gloss to be thick and moisturizing, but not sticky.

Deborah Lippmann Here Comes The Queen is likely my favorite polish ever (that I've tried) from her line, and quite possibly in my top 10 polishes of all time.  The base is clear with random sized gold flakies throughout.  It was easy to apply and no flakie maneuvering was necessary.  I used one coat of this polish over top of China Glaze Fuchsia Fanatic for the swatch photos.

The retail on this set was $48.00.  But then it was on sale for $23.99.  And then it was another 40% off I believe (I paid like $15 something with the tax?).... so if you can possibly still find this at Juicy Couture, it's likely to be super cheap, since it's been a bit since I picked it up.

Tarte GIFTED AMAZONIAN CLAY SMART MASCARA Swatches and Review

As you may or may not know, I love a giveaway.  I love to enter them almost as much as I love to host them.  With a stroke of luck, I won three Tarte products from one of Bloomin Beauty Blog's Blogiversary Giveaway!

This week I'll also be showing you the 2 blushes, but for today we'll focus on Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Mascara!

What the Sephora website has to say about Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara:

What it is:
A reparative and volumizing mascara containing Tarte's biggest beauty breakthrough, Amazonian clay.

What it does:
This amazing mascara delivers a 406% increase in lash volume and long-term reparative, rebuilding, and strengthening benefits with each swipe giving you instant results and better lash health. Just as it intuitively restores hydration and texture in skin, Amazonian clay intuitively hydrates and replenishes dry and brittle lashes to prevent fallout. High performance natural™Amazonian clay performs all day by absorbing oil to balance mascara and keep product in place for flake-free longer wear. It lends itself to deepen pure color pigments creating a volume-boosting formula with higher intensity and truer pure color. The result is healthier and more voluminous lashes that won't ever flake or transfer, naturally. After daily wear, lashes are intact, healthier and stronger. This mascara prevents lash loss and promotes lash health.

What else you need to know:
Tarte gives back and so can you: with every gifted mascara purchase, you are helping support the Tarte-sponsored sustainable-harvest cooperatives in the Amazon.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Synthetic Dyes
- Petrochemicals
- Phthalates
- GMOs
- Triclosan

Research results:
91% of subjects reported healthier lashes after use.
Size: 0.24 oz

 The eye shadow used in this photo is L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Iced Latte.

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara is pretty darn amazing.  The above eye swatch is only ONE coat.  I got a lot of nice natural curl and lengthening with this mascara.  Though it wasn't very thickening, I found it a great mascara for daily and natural use.

The packaging for the mascara wand is rather bulky, but didn't hinder me from using easily.  The wooden tube definitely stands out from my other mascaras!

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara retails for $19.00 as is available at Sephora and Ulta.

***This post contains an affiliate link.  For more information, please see my disclosure policy.