Redirect Info

In a few seconds, you will be directed to my new domain http://www.blushingnoir.com - please use the search box there to find the page you're looking for, as all content has been moved over.


Use the widgets to the right to follow via Blog Lovin, Networked Blogs, and GFC - Thank you!

Updated - Moving! Important Announcement!

Updated to add - I've added a new GFC box to http://www.blushingnoir.com - It's not letting me move the old one over, so anyone who followed me here through GFC is going to have to refollow (hopefully!) at the new website.  I'm crossing my fingers that Google doesn't do away with GFC, because I like it better than the others.  If they do, the only way you'll be able to follow posts is through Bloglovin (which is actually pretty great, a lot of sites have it now and at the end of every day you get an email with the posts in it) and/or Networked Blogs

*********

Well, I finally sucked it up and bought a dot com.

You can now find me at http://www.blushingnoir.com

What this means:
I will no longer be posting through blogger.  Unfortunately Blogger isn't allowing Google Friend Connect to be used on any other sites in a few months.  Right now I have bloglovin and networked blogs as follower widgets on blushingnoir.com.  I've been trying to transfer over GFC but it's not letting me do this.  I'm still researching, but if you want to be sure to get the latest posts and giveaway happenings go to http://blushingnoir.com and follow via bloglovin or networked blogs.  This will be mandatory for the next giveaway.

The HUGE February 2000 Follower Giveaway is STILL HAPPENING.  It will just be at http://blushingnoir.com.

All new posts can be found at http://blushingnoir.com.  The blogger account will remain active, but nothing new will be posted here.  I urge you to go to the new site and check it out!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or post here!

STEAL HEARTS WITH DURI

Love is not only in the air, but right at your finger tips with Duri Cosmetics nail shades this Valentine's Day!

Whether it be hand holding, a romantic foot massage, a hot date or girls' night out, Valentine’s Day shines a spotlight on hands and feet.

Duri Cosmetics has all the right sweet and sassy shades to give them a little love and steal hearts.  Whether he “puts a ring on it” or not, nails will look their best with Duri Cosmetics Romantic shades.

Help your readers find an eye- catching polish from Duri Cosmetics to love this Valentine's Day. Think Sweetheart- a gorgeous bright, shiny red; Almost in Love- pretty pale pink; Cupid Rules- a clear, glossy, bright pink; Hot Date-   bright fuchsia to grab his attention; or Every Day is a Valentine- sheer saucy red. 

 

And for those gift-givers, mix 'n match three hues to create a classic, romantic Valentine's Day set with Duri's Custom Gift Sets. (Please note gift sets go perfectly with a box of chocolate.)

 

Other perfect Cupid-kissed lacquers:

 

Forget Me Never- Hot Pink

Breakfast in Bed- Soft classic pink

Cranberry Crush- Romantic deep red

 

All Duri nail products are completely safe, environmentally-friendly and free from DBP, TOLUENE and FORMALDEHYDE.

Make Duri Cosmetics your editorials' perfect match! All Duri Cosmetics products are available nationwide at salons, spas and specialty stores, as well as online at www.duri.com. Individual bottles retail for only $5 each and Custom Gift Sets retail for only $15 each.

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.

Week of January 21, 2012 - The Beauty Blogazons Roundup

Perilously Pale- Lise Watier 2012 Aquarella Collection Round-up and Face of the Day
Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom- The one with Julep Molly
Midnight Manicures- Friday 13th - My 13 favorite manicure and pedicure products from 2011.
Polish Insomniac- China Glaze Aquadelic - Comparisons and Dupe Search!
Blushing Noir- NARS Paramaribo Duo Eyeshadow Swatches, Review and EOTD - Spring 2012
The Beauty Delicacy- Winter Proof Your Skin
Stephanie Louise- All Things Beautiful – Zoya Fleck Effect Swatches January 2012
Creatively Yours By Ro- Top 25 Under 25 Sephora
The Kracked Kat- The Best Christmas Present...EVER!!! Unicorn Puke
Glitter.Gloss.Garbage- Nicki Minaj OPI Swatches 

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.

Neova Skin Care - Your 3 Must Haves for Winter Skin SOS

Neova is an award winning brand of skin care formulated with Copper Peptides and DNA repair.

From the Neova Facebook Page:

Neova is the first clinical skin care company to bring real innovation to the photo aging category by introducing Copper Peptide Complex technology products. These award-winning formulas target photodamaged skin, help to visibly repair it and revolutionize the way women care for their skin. Neova is among the first skin care brands to make the association between DNA damage and premature skin aging and provides complete, continuous and optimized correction with DNA Repair and Copper Combination Therapy skin care.

Okay, so I had no idea what photodamaged meant.  Looking it up, just in case you don't know either, let's get ed-u-ma-cayted... "Photodamaged = The structural and functional deterioration of sun-exposed skin, resulting in wrinkling, roughness, altered texture, discoloration, acral lentigines, mottled hyperpigmentation"  Yep, that's me!

I have a three part system from Neova Skin Care here to share with you - Creme de la Copper, Day Therapy SPF 30, and DNA Total Repair.

DNA Total Repair

Meant to be used in the evening, DNA Total Repair ($99.00 for 1.7 fl. oz.) is used to speed up recovery from previous damage that the sun has caused, and to help prevent further damage from occurring.  It is also used to diminish fine lines and wrinkles, as well as discoloration.

Creme de la Copper

Creme de la Copper ($117.00 for 1.7 fl. oz.) is to be used daily after AM and PM cleansing to revive dry skin and reduce the signs of photoaging. 

Day Therapy SPF 30

Day Therapy SPF 30 ($85.00 for 1.7 fl. oz.) is to be applied daily before leaving the house to help defend against UVA/UVB damage.  This multi-purpose product also protects against winter UV radiation.  Did you know there was a new FDA mandate for skin care in 2012?  I didn't, but this product is compliant.

Overall, after a few weeks of use there are subtle changes, especially in the redness of my cheeks.  I can't speak so much to the wrinkles aspect, since most of my wrinkling is happening around the eyes, but I think this is a great system to prevent any other wrinkles from showing their ugly little faces. 

The creams appear thick, but aren't heavy on the skin.  Once smoothed on, the product sinks in quickly and feels smooth.  I am also in love with the pump (shown below) for dispensing the creams.  It's a firm pump that shoots out just the right amount of product.

My skin can be rather sensitive (I can easily get hives and itchy face), and I didn't have any issues with any of the three products that I tried.   There is a slight odor to the products, which fades after you apply.

Neova Skin Care items are available for purchase at nextderm.com.  Shipping is free for orders over $50 and be sure to sign up for the newsletter to be privy to promotions.  The links under the pictures will take you directly to the product pages, where you'll be able to find ingredients as well as more in depth descriptions and user reviews.

Introducing MAC Lightfully New With Marina Bright Formula - Official Product Information and Photos

MAC

Lightfully New

with Marine-Bright Formula

LIGHTFUL MARINE BRIGHT: A NATURAL
UPGRADE TO THE ORIGINAL LIGHTFUL, OUR UNIQUE
MARINE-BRIGHT FORMULA FEATURES THREE
SEAWEEDS HARVESTED FROM THE WORLD’S OCEANS.
NOURISH, HYDRATE, DE-OXIDIZE AND FORTIFY THE SKIN
AGAINST KEY AGGRESSORS – EXCESS MELANIN AND
FREE-RADICALS – WHILE PROGRESSIVELY SHIFTING THE
COMPLEXION TOWARD A MORE EVENLY PIGMENTED RADIANCE.
ADDING TO THIS TRIO’S POTENCY: OUR OWN SUPER-DUO
CHARGED WATER, LIGHTFUL CLEANSER, ESSENCE, MOISTURE CREME,
AND SOFTENING LOTION. YOUR FUTURE IS BRIGHT!

M·A·C LIGHTFUL CLEANSER - $25.00 U.S./$30.00 CDN

M·A·C LIGHTFUL SOFTENING LOTION - $30.00 U.S./$36.00 CDN

M·A·C LIGHTFUL ESSENCE - $40.00 U.S./$48.00 CDN

M·A·C LIGHTFUL MOISTURE CREME - $40.00 U.S./$48.00 CDN

M·A·C Lightfully New with Marina-Bright Formula  

Available February 23, 2012 in the permanent collection