Ponds Luminous Finish BB+ Cream!

Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream is in stores now and new for the US market in July 2013!

I have been trying it out the past few weeks and have absolutely been loving it! I was sent the Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream by Influenster to do a product test of it before it released in the United States and also post a product review of it, if I felt the product was worthy.

I've enjoyed using the BB+ Cream, and I have to say the timing was absolutely perfect - as I had been leaning towards wearing BB creams for the majority of the summer. I was happy to try another option, and the Luminous Finish BB+ Cream didn't disappoint!

It claims to improve your skin texture over a period of two weeks and also decrease dark spots on your skin as well, I do believe I've seen an improvement in my skin and I know my skin feels better... so that is an important part as well.

Also, it gives great coverage and I can "build" it in areas where I would like a little bit more coverage - but it doesn't cake up or look like I'm wearing a ton of makeup. BB creams are great to let your natural skin shine through, and this BB+ cream is no exception, in that it gives my skin a nice healthy glow when I'm wearing it.

The BB+ cream also works great as a moisturizer, so i'm looking forward to wearing this during the winter months when my skin tends to get a bit dry - and if I can put faith in any company to know its moisturizers, it would be Pond's. A company known for its moisturizer world wide for decades.

This item is currently available on mass retailer store shelves now, and retail price is approximately $9.99.

See the full review and explanation of the Pond's contest below:

See my 2 minute entry in the Pond's Facebook competition for who best displayed and represented the product in under 2 minutes!

Vote NOW on the Pond's Facebook page for the best representatives of the BB+ Cream! Voting goes through August 12, 2013.

** Items in this review were sent complimentary for purposes of completing a review. This is not a paid review. All opinions are my own.

Best of Beauty 2012!

These were my top picks for 2012 for makeup & beauty items!

My best beauty finds in 2012! Products mentioned are listed below:

Best Lip Products:
- Dior lipstick Cherie Bow (Sephora.com)
- Dior lipstick Pink Cherie (Sephora.com)
- NARS Cruising (Sephora.com)

- Dior Lip Gloss in #257
- Dior Lip Gloss in #576 Sari Pink
- Dior Lip Gloss in Nordstrom LE #582 Draped Lilac

- MAC Lipstick in Blankety
- MAC Lipstick in High Tea

- MAC Lip Glass in Nymphette
- MAC Lip Glass in Prrr
- MAC Lip Glass in Cultured

- NARS Velvet Lip Pencil in New Lover

Best Face Primer:
- Tarte Poreless Primer (Sephora.com)

Best Foundation:
- Make Up For Ever Hd Foundation (Sephora.com)

Best Face Powder:
- Tarte Amazonian Clay Powder in Fair (Sephora.com)

Best Blush:
- Dior Blush in Strawberry Sorbet
- Dior Blush in Sugar & Spice

Best Tools & Applicators:
- Beauty Blender Sponge
- Sigma F80 brush
- Sigma E05 brush
- Sephora All Over Eyeshadow Brush

Best Eyeshadow:
- Urban Decay Sin, Urban Decay palette
- MAC palette

Best Mascara:
- Tarte Light's Camera Mascara
- Lancome Hypnose Drama

Best of Hair care:
- Bumble & Bumble De Mode Hair Spray

Best of Skin Care:
- Mario Badescu Special Cucumber Lotion (Ulta)
- Mario Badescu Drying Lotion (Ulta)

Best Perfume:
- Marc Jacobs Daisy (Sephora.com)

** I am not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned. All opinions are my own, this was not a paid review.

September Favorites!

My favorites from the month of September!

Pre-Fall Fav Look #3!

I've dubbed this one the "Dior look"....

Makeup products used:
- Bare Escentuals Foundation & Mineral Veil
- Bare Escentuals Foundation & Full Face Brushes
- Dior Awakening Blush
- Too Faced Pink Leopard bronzer
- Too Faced Candlelight highlighter
- Dior Golden Savannah eyeshadow palette
- Urban Decay Sin eyeshadow
- Dior Wild lipstick
- Dior Addict Gloss #157
- Diorshow Mascara
- Fairy Drops Scandal Queen mascara
- Ulta Charcoal eyeliner

Favorite Pre-Fall Makeup Looks #1 & #2

Two of my favorite looks for the early months of Fall 2012!

Look #1 includes items from MAC Cosmetics, Dior, & Too Faced:

Full product list:
- Prime Time Primer
- Amazing Cosmetics Concealer
- Make Up For Ever HD Foundation in 110
- Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil to set
- NARS Mata Hari blush
- Too Faced Pink Leopard bronzer
- MAC eyeshadows: Vanilla, Naked Lunch, Era, & Satin Taupe
- Dior Extreme Addict Lipstick in Bow Cherie
- Dior Addict Gloss in 157
- Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara

Look #2 includes items from Urban Decay, MAC Cosmetics, & Chanel:

Full product list:
- Bare Escentuals Prime Time Primer
- Amazing Cosmetics Concealer
- Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact in Beige Rose 22
- Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki Brush
- MAC Cosmetics Mineralized Skinfinish in Medium
- Bare Escentuals Full Face Brush
- Too Faced 'Who's your Poppy?' blush
- Sonia Kashuk blush brush
- Too Faced Pink Leopard bronzer
- Too Faced Teddy Bear Hair blush brush
- Too Faced Candlelight Highlighter
- Sephora fan brush
- Urban Decay Naked 2 Eyeshadow Palette: Bootycall, Suspect, Tease, & Snakebite
- Sonia Kashuk eyeshadow brush
- Urban Decay lid primer
- MAC Cosmetics lipstick in Patissiere
- MAC Cosmetics lip glass in Evolution Revolution

Beauty Blender vs. Sigma F80 Foundation Brush

I've been enjoying using my Beauty Blender (pink sponge) and Sigma F80 to apply foundations lately. I've found that I prefer applying liquid foundations with the Beauty Blender sponge, and cream foundations with the Sigma F80 Brush.

The Beauty Blender does a great job of applying the right amount of product to give a flawless and natural daytime look, while I find that the Sigma brush gives a heavier application with liquid foundation (so good if you're wanting a full coverage look) - I like that the F80 makes cream blush look equally as light and flawless for daytime as the Beauty Blender is with liquid foundation.

In my review comparing the two, I use the Make Up For Ever HD Foundation to show the difference in the application of a liquid foundation.

Dior Summer & Fall 2012 Makeup Haul!

I was super excited about the Fall 2012 Dior collection, so I decided I needed to get to Nordstrom's ASAP to look at the items in person... Sure enough, they are gorgeous and saturated taupe-y neutrals - perfect for a crisp Fall day when you just want to toss a cardigan & scarf on before you go... I do love my neutrals.

Also a few fun lipsticks for summer caught my attention, my favorite being Dior's Palace - a gorgeous Coral color that has just enough color without being over the top!

Shown:
- Dior Fall 2012 Golden Savannah Eyeshadow Palette
- Dior Fall 2012 Wild lipstick
- Dior Palace lipstick
- Dior Bow Cherie lipstick
- Dior Pink Cherie lipstick

$20 Makeup Challenge!

This was a fun one! What would YOUR makeup look like with only $20 to spend on products AND tools?

Products Used:
- Garnier BB Cream
- (2) ELF Eyeshadows
- ELF Blush & Bronzer Duo
- ELF Blush Brush
- ELF Eyeshadow Brush
- ELF mascara
- L'Oreal Lip Gloss

Giveaway: You Tube Beauty Favorites from Drugstore brands!

I'm excited to be hosting my first You Tube giveaway! The past few giveaways I've hosted were here on my blog and I thought it was time to say "thank you" to my You Tube subscribers by hosting a comment giveaway on my Bags4Bubbles channel there.

I'm giving away some of my favorite budget friendly beauty favorites, from Target and Ulta! You can enter to win by completing two simple steps! Subscribe to Bags4Bubbles You Tube Channel (if you're already subscribed, this step is done!) and then leave me a comment on the giveaway video below of a few of your favorite beauty items! And that's it, you are entered to win! Good luck everyone!

The giveaway closes on May 25, 2012 at 8:00pm CST. Giveaway is sponsored by Bags4Bubbles and is not affiliated with any of the companies aforementioned.

Product Review: Sibu Beauty Sea Buckthorn Balancing Facial Cleanser

I was given the opportunity by Sibu Beauty to review their Sea Buckthorn Balancing Facial Cleanser. It is supposed to leave your skin looking and feeling radiant and refreshed; remove excess oil and impurities; gently exfoliate; and work for all skin types.

It is all natural, paraben-free, cruelty-free, and sulfate-free.

After using it for over a week, I feel like it leaves my face feeling more moisturized and refreshed. The consistency is a nice, lightweight cleanser that has small exfoiliating beads that provide a gentle exfoiliation. I love the unique smell, to me it has a light scent of clementine and berry... which I believe is the sea buckthorn berry.

I've been using this product in the shower, but I think it would also be a great cleanser to use at night to remove makeup. The consistency is great and the product is gentle enough to be used daily.

My verdict: The Sea Buckthorn Balancing Facial Cleanser is a great all natural choice to use for facial cleansing. I thought it did a great job at leaving my skin feeling clean and refreshed, and it wasn't too heavy. I also like the gently exfoliation beads, that helped to renew my skin. The smell was also great, a very unique scent - that wasn't overpowering, and very pleasant. A light scent of berry and citrus.

I'm planning on continuing to use this product and I would recommend it if you've been thinking of trying it!

Watch my video review here:

To try a FREE Sea Buckthorn Balancing Facial Cleanser from Sibu Beauty - enter by filling out the form at the link below. Sibu Beauty will be mailing one lucky reader a FREE Sea Buckthorn Balancing Facial Cleanser to try for themselves!

Enter by May 1, 2012. Product will be sent directly from Sibu Beauty. Please be over the age of 18 and a resident of the US.

*~ Enter the giveaway for a free facial cleanser 

from Sibu Beauty, HERE~*

* Please note the products in this review were sent to the reviewer by the company to perform an independent review. I've given my honest opinions on the products mentioned. 

A Louis Vuitton Giveaway??? Seriously? YES! Seriously!

My big announcement on You Tube yesterday was that we are going to have TWO exciting, exclusive You Tube, giveaways when I reach 1000 and 5000 subscribers!

I expect to reach 1000 subscribers (or be close enough to open the giveaway) in May, and took suggestions from my blog giveaways here at Mom's Got a Brand New Bag for what to do for the next giveaway. For the 1000 subscriber giveaway, we will do a beauty giveaway, full of my drugstore favorites from Target and elsewhere! I'm excited to be able to share some of my favorite products with you. That giveaway will open in May 2012 or when Bags4Bubbles on You Tube reaches 1000 subscribers, whichever happens first.

The REALLY huge announcement though... was after I thought about it for a bit, I thought it would be appropriate to start planning a Louis Vuitton giveaway! Since the majority of my videos on You Tube are bag and specifically a lot are Louis Vuitton related... I thought that if we made a goal and reached it, it would be a great way to say "thank you" for watching all of my videos to do a Louis Vuitton giveaway!

So I proposed a 5000 subscriber Giveaway Challenge on You Tube! When, and if, I can reach 5000 subscribers on my You Tube channel, www.youtube.com/Bags4Bubbles - I will be giving away a brand new Louis Vuitton bandeau! The bandeaus are the long, thing scarves that look fantastic tied on your bag as an accessory or can be used in many other ways as well.

I thought this would be an exciting way to get people more involved and also encourage people to check out my new videos, in addition to my old ones. Since I took a bit of a break from making videos, I wanted to let everyone know that I was back making them again!

The rules for the You Tube exclusive 1000 subscriber and 5000 subscriber will include the following:
1) You must be a subscriber at www.youtube.com/Bags4Bubbles to enter.
2) They will be random comment giveaways, so the enter will be placed with your comment on the giveaway video for each specific giveaway - and one winner will be chosen at random by Random.org.
3) Both giveaways will be open internationally!
4) Entrants must be over the age of 18.
5) The winner will have 48 hours to contact me with their shipping address before they forfeit and the gift goes to the next person on the list!

So they should be some pretty easy and fun giveaways! So if you've stopped by Bags4Bubbles to check out my older videos, come on by and check out my new ones as well! Subscribe, and help us reach our 1000 & 5000 subscriber goals!

February Favorites!

I'm on a video kick right now (and neglecting blogging... whoopsie!) - and wanted to share my February Favorites!

Products in video:
- Philsophy 'Full of Fortune Cookie' 3 in 1 Shower Gel (Sephora)
- Amazing Cosmetics Concealer (Sephora)
- EOS Lip Balm in Mint (Target)
- Sonia Kashuk Blush in Flamingo (Target)
- Boots No. 7 Lash 360 degree mascara (Target)
- Rimmel Lipstick in Airy Fairy (Target)
- Rimmel Lip gloss in My Eternity (Target)

I've already come across a few favorites for March, so I'm going to be excited to share those with you after the month is over!

Tarina Tarantino Magical Palette - Review and Look Idea!

I picked up the Tarina Tarantino 'Magical' eye shadow palette at Sephora the other day because I wanted a bit of color to mix up my eye look. I tend to use mostly neutrals that are in the Naked or Naked 2 palettes on a daily basis - so when I walked past this palette with beautiful purples I knew I had to get it! There is a great pewter color that works with brown eyes really well, and the bottom deep purple color actually looks like a purple against fair skin... unlike some purples that look like a dark gray or charcoal eyeshadow once you have them on.

I've been using the matte white shade in the Magical palette for highlighting and colors from the Naked 2 palette as a base. I've found that the Tarina Tarantino eye shadows are long-lasting and feel very smooth when you're applying them. I use Too Faced's Shadow Insurance eye primer, so I'm sure that helps the shadows stay on longer as well. The darker purple color in the palette does tend to "shift" on my crease after about 4 hours, and when I get home it looks like I put more of the darker color above my lid than I actually did... but it is very minimal and doesn't look horrible. Just a more noticeable shift than I've seen with the Urban Decay shadows that I'm more used to.

This palette is priced at $32 at Sephora right now, I think it is a great buy to add a few additional colors into your eye shadow rotation. The packaging is beautiful and travel friendly. While I don't think that this palette is going to replace my love for my Naked palettes anytime soon... I do think it is a keeper!

Watch the video for the look I've liked with this palette here:

Here's what it looks like on:

Pink polish Wednesdays... Butter London!

I had been wearing Zoya's Julieanne at the beginning of the week (gorgeous purple color!)... but decided to change it up today to a pink for Pink Polish Wednesdays and also to try a nail polish that is going to be a part of my upcoming haul post. (I haven't done one of those ever, so I thought it would be fun to try & show you some of the new things I've gotten recently!)

Today's pink is Butter London's 'Fairy Lights' and it may be one of the most appropriate polish names I've ever seen! The instant I put it on, I thought to myself, "That reminds me of fairy wings for some reason." Ha! It is a nice foil polish that goes one smoothly and coats evenly (unlike 'No More Waity Katie', which I returned because of its blotchy application & got this color instead)... and the pink is a sparkly light pink that isn't too baby-ish.

It actually pops a bit more than I thought it was going to - thinking it would be a subtle color that would blend into my skin tone. I really like it though, it is a keeper for sure!

Whoo hoo for Naked 2!

It's late (in my world), I'm tired... I'm rhyming.

However I am excited that I finally picked up the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette, follow-up to the Naked palette... my practically every day eyeshadow palette for about the past year! I was actually concerned that the Naked 2 might not be different enough from the original to justify having both - but I was pleased to find that they are actually a great compliment to each other.

Naked 2 palette on top, Naked palette on bottom

There are thousands of reviews out there on these two, I'm sure - so I will just touch on the highlights for me personally... I love the neutralness (is that word?) of each of the palettes and I appreciate the subtle differences in the Naked 2 version, with more taupe and gray based colors.

Naked palette on left, Naked 2 palette on right

My go-to combination from the Naked palette has been Sin across the lid up to the brow, Toasted across the lid, Hustle in the crease, and Virgin as a highlight.

My go to Naked palette combination for every day

I'm loving a few combinations of colors from the Naked 2 palette so far, and I've also been mixing some of the colors of the Naked 2 palette with my Tarina Tarantino Magical palette.

Some favorite combinations so far from Naked 2...
- Bootycall across lid up to brow, Tease across lid, Pistol in crease, Busted in crease
- Verve across lid up to brow (Pewter from Tarina Tarantino palette across lid, and Deep Purple from TT palette in crease, White from TT palette as highlight)
- Verve across lid up to brow, YDK across lid, Busted in crease

I'll be sure to upload pics of combinations as I get to try some more...

My updated Spring 2012 wishlist...

I decided it was time to update the wishlist, with the things I'm currently stalking on the Net!

Makeup &Beauty

I've loved all of the perfumes that I've tried over the past few months, but other than finally getting a full sized Bond No. 9 perfume... I think I'm pretty complete on perfumes right now. I'm back to focusing on nail polish and have a few "must haves" that I'm eyeing at Dior.com!

Dior Metallic Silver polish, Dior.com, $23

Dior Graffiti Pink polish, Dior.com, $23

I'm also loving the OPI Muppet collection!

OPI Muppet Collection in Divine Swine, amazon.com, Prices vary.

  

Don't ask me how I stumbled upon the Bond No. 9 fragrance brand, but as soon as I saw the bottle for Madison Square Park I knew I had to track down a sample. As predicted when it comes to these things, I received the sample and really liked the scent as well. As soon as I can reconcile myself to the price... it will be mine. (It comes with jewelry, with the cute little green bracelet/brooch on top - so that has to count for something, right?)

www.saksfifthavenue.com, 1.7 oz. Bond No. 9 - Madison Square Park,  $180

Shoes

I'm totally obsessed with Tory Burch right now! I would love another pair of Revas and also a pair of pink Tory Burch sandals for Spring!

Tory Burch Reva in Royal Tan, toryburch.com, $195

Tory Burch Miller Sandal in Love Pink, toryburch.com, $195

Accessories

I went Tiffany & Co overboard for Christmas (which is never a bad thing!) - so my current Tiffany & co wishlist is fairly (well, relatively) short...

Tiffany & Co Notes earrings, tiffany.com, $125

www.tiffany.com, Daisy Key on Oval Chain, $300

I have a never ending handbag wishlist from Louis Vuitton... but here are the bags I'm currently stalking. (And deciding between.)

Louis Vuitton Alma, louisvuitton.com, $1550

Louis Vuitton Empreinte Artsy MM, louisvuitton.com, $2670

Louis Vuitton Damier Westminster GM, louisvuitton.com, $1260

A girl's work is never done!

Dior Diva Reward Club

I'm a sucker for rewards clubs... I absolutely love them! Sephora's Beauty Insider & VIB program is one of my favorites, but I have a case full of "store loyalty" cards that proves - if it's free and involves some sort of reward... I'm in!

I love the idea of getting something free on a good day - but getting something free as a reward for something you were going to buy anyways is a win-win for me. I stumbled upon the fact that Dior has exactly this sort of program for beauty purchases!

I've used Diorshow mascara for years, and Dior Addict Ultra Gloss lip glosses are also some of my favorites. So when I found out that there was such a thing as a reward program for Dior beauty purchases - made at any authorized retailer (not just at Dior.com) - I was psyched!

How it works is you send in your receipts from any Dior beauty purchases you've made within a 12 month time period (or shorter time period, if you've saved up the appropriate amount of points for the reward you are wanting) and mail the receipts in the the Dior Diva Club redemption center. They send you a free gift based on the amount of points you've accumulated! This seriously has to be one of the best kept beauty reward club secrets ever!

After I found out about the program in December 2011, I sent in a few receipts I had from purchases in 2011 for the 100 point gift. The program redemption form states that you should receive your products within 6-8 weeks, but I found that they had a super quick turn around time and received my free gift a mere two weeks later!

It was presented beautifully in a Dior logo lined box:

The 100 point gift is a deluxe sample gift bag, with deluxe samples of J'Adore perfume, Capture Totale, Diorshow Mascara, and a Dior lipstick mini.

They also have reward levels for 250, 500, 1000, 2500, and 5000 points as well. I'm planning on saving my points up for the 500 point level next - the "Charming Diva" level - which gifts you a Dior charm bracelet and perfume deluxe sample. (Which I've been dying for since I missed the Sephora 500 point gift that was out in November 2011 and sold out in two days while I was off busy having a baby... that was also a Dior bracelet & perfume sample. I'm hoping the Dior Diva gift will be similar.)

I see myself wearing a few extra coats of mascara in the future to work towards getting my 500 points!

2011 Beauty Purchases... My personal hits & misses

The end of the year is a time of reflection for a lot of people, so I got down to thinking about what 2011 was about for me and it all came down to... BEAUTY. (Well, you know - besides all that mushy, gushy stuff of family, new baby, loving my kids, etc. - it came down to beauty. Ha!) And by beauty, I mean that 2011 was the year of getting my beauty regimen in order.

I tried new products, found some favorites in hair care, skin care, perfumes, nail polish, and makeup - and also had a few misses along the way as well.

I can say that I'm coming out the other side of 2011 with a much better understanding of the types of beauty products that work best for me, some new favorite products, and a developed passion for all things in the "beauty" segment. The year started with a bang, with the Zoya "3 free" promotion and it got me to thinking... what if I took a different area of beauty and focused on it each month. Really honing in on the products and techniques that work best for me, and trying to find my signature pieces.

In the middle of the year, my sensitive skin on my face flared up (because of pregnancy hormones), so one month was focused on my skincare routine, another month I focused on finding great hair products that improved the look of my hair, other months were devoted to nails, eye makeup, lips, etc. I found that I started to gravitate towards the brands Mario Badescu, NARS, MAC, Alterna, and Make Up For Ever - just to name a few. And although it was tough to narrow it down... I came up with a list of beauty purchases that I made throughout the year, that were a definite "don't regret buying it - HIT" or "regret buying this - MISS"...

*~*~* 2011 Beauty Purchases Hits & Misses *~*~*

Top 5 Purchases that "I could have skipped buying this" - Total MISSES!

5) Bare Escentuals Flawless Definition Mascara - It was really hard for me to think of a fifth item that I could totally put in the "regret" category... so this one only gets an honorable mention. In my pursuit to find the perfect mascara (Diorshow won) I tried BE's Flawless Definition mascara - it wasn't horrible. Just nothing great. Nothing to write home about. I found it to to be a perfectly "adequate" mascara... meaning it didn't flake and drive me nuts, but it didn't really do anything for my lashes either. After the first few uses, even its magical lash separating powers didn't really seem to work quite as well, so it just became a regular mascara - with a really annoying applicator.

4) Sephora's Hello Kitty Perfume with atomizer - Sigh. I wanted to love it. I really did. The adorable bottle, the great smell, the fantastic atomizer (of which you can read about my obsession with HERE)... it was the total package. I ordered it online after we moved to our new house in an area that does NOT have a Sephora conveniently located near by, opened the box... only to find - the stupid atomizer didn't WORK! Not cool. 


I realize this isn't exactly "designer" perfume, but for the price - you expect at least working parts. I didn't want to go through the hassle of either driving to a store to return, or having to return by mail (it was right around the time I was due with the new baby)... so the adorable bottle sits on my dresser and when I want to wear it, I unscrew the bottle top and put it on. Lame.

3) Maybelline Falsies Mascara - This mascara gets hype that it works great, even from people that have tried higher grade mascaras... so I fell for it and decided to give it a try, even though I KNOW that drugstore brands mascaras just don't work for me. (I wear contacts and have really sensitive eyes... I can't have any sort of flakage with a mascara, otherwise it just kills just my eyes & contacts.) This was clumpy, thick, and flakey for me... Nothing positive to say about this one. Well... I guess other than at least it wasn't more than $6 or $7...

2) MAC Evolution Revolution lip glass - The color doesn't really do anything for me and I found the colors Prrr, Cultured, and Nymphette after buying this - that are much more suited to my skin tone and lifestyle. ER stays in my makeup drawers, but I could have probably taken a pass here...

MAC lipstick in Blankety & MAC lip glass in Evolution Revolution

1) Urban Decay's 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Palette - I wanted to love it... I really, really did. This one fell flat on me or just couldn't live up to the hype that the Naked palette fulfilled. The colors were long-lasting, but I found them to be totally unwearable. I'm much more of a neutral gal for every day makeup and don't ever particularly have a need for makeup that is "out of the ordinary"... this was the biggest purchase regret of 2011.

Top 5 Purchases that "I Love!" - Were total HITS! 

5) Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola perfume - I ended up buying the largest size of this when my Sephora was out of all other sizes except the large size during a beauty event, even though I typically always get the medium sized perfumes. I was skeptical I could use it all at first, but now I'm so glad I ended up with the larger size! It's a beautiful scent that works for everyday as a stay at home mom, or is nice enough for a night out with hubby. Plus the bottle isn't too shabby to look at either.

4) MAC Fix+ - Took a gamble on trying this product and I'm glad that I did... I find that it does work to help "set" my makeup and gives me a soft finished look. I don't use it everyday, but I do feel like it gives me a little boost on the days that I do use it.

3) NARS Douceur Blush - A beautiful brown with pink undertone blush that looks great against my fair skin. This is my every day blush right now. 

NARS Douceur blush is pictured in the bottom right corner, with some of my other favorite beauty items.

2) NARS Crusing Lipstick - Another hit from NARS... This IS the perfect nude lipstick on me. Practically the same color as my natural lips, works with almost any makeup color scheme... This one is going into permanent rotation!

MAC Blankety on left, NARS Cruising on right

1) Urban Decay's Naked Palette - This is my go to eye shadow palette that I use practically every day! This was such a great investment for me and I'm actually one year later getting ready to purchase my second replacement one. I started off the year trying out this palette, and it quickly became a favorite. Wearable colors, travel friendly, and long-lasting formula... what's not to love?!?

Beauty: Things I'm loving right now!

Well, while I've been away moving and stuff - my focus has stayed on beauty items as my main source of enjoyment while shopping. I think I get fixated on beauty items when I'm pregnant because it helps me to retain some sense of self - having the time to put on my makeup and do my hair every day - as well as just generally helping you feel like a human being again on those days when you feel like your body has been taken over by someone else! (Oh yeah, it has.)

I've been really into pinks & neutrals, and have kept my makeup palette fairly tame these past few months. This has actually allowed me to try some new products that I believe will become mainstays in my makeup collection!

Here are some products that I'm loving right now:

Philosophy 3 in 1 in Pink Layered Cake; MAC  Lip glasses in Cultured,  Nymphette, & Prrr;  Diorshow  Waterproof Mascara; MAC Blankety lip stick; NARS Cruising lip stick, Urban Decay shadow in Sin; and NARS blush in Douceur

I'd been using Too Faced lipstick in Free Love forever, so I decided it was time to branch out and find some other neutral lip colors that worked well... I tried MAC Blankety and NARS Cruising - these two lipsticks are absolutely going into my permanent rotation! I love them! Especially NARS Cruising, it is the perfect pink nude lip color and matches my natural lips perfectly.

MAC Blankety lip stick & NARS Crusing lip stick

Keeping with my pink & neutral theme... I also tried a few new MAC Lip Glass colors - Cultured, Nymphette, and Prrrr. They all look fantastic on and are forgiving colors that you can just swipe on in the car on-the-go if needed. (Which is important in my life!) I've been wearing Cultured layered over the NARS Cruising lipstick, and Prrr was actually a color that I hadn't anticipated purchasing until I was in the store looking at colors - but when paired with Blankety lipstick, it gives a beautiful nude lip.

NARS Douceur blush is also a hit for me, the perfect neutral cheek look for Fall & Winter. It is subtle when on and you can build it up for a bigger effect. The color is a pink-ish neutral brown tone and I wear it with Too Faced's leopard bronzer underneath to add a bit of punch.

NARS Orgasm Blush compared to NARS Douceur Blush

Here's a horrible swatch on my arm of NARS Orgasm blush compared to NARS Douceur. I have a hard time getting swatches to show up on my arm...

So I haven't forgotten to take a bit of time to focus on myself while all of this move stuff has been going on. I'm looking forward to getting back into a predictable life routine though, and that includes not having to carry all of my makeup around in travel makeup bags!

New Sephora & MAC purchases!

I've been on a bit of a makeup binge lately, it's so fun though. Some fun purchases I wanted to share are the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary eyeshadow palette, that I ordered from Sephora to also get the Dolce & Gabbana perfume VIB freebie... and a few fun lip colors from MAC. I was super excited to receive the Urban Decay palette, because the Naked palette was such a hit for me!

The palette arrived yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised when I opened it to see the colors. I'd ordered the palette only after seeing the colors online, and I wasn't sure if some of them would be as wearable or good looking in real life as they came across in promotional pictures. However after I opened my palette, I was happy to find that a number of the colors jumped out at me as very wearable and great for daytime looks.

The packaging was also fantastic, it's a very weighty palette and comes with the cutest velvet lining - with a little storage compartment underneath the shadows. (Note: Be careful trying to open the storage compartment, I nicked the shadow in the bottom right corner trying to get it open after I took these pictures... and eventually devised a successful plan to open it with a chop stick. So I'm not sure how useful the compartment would be in the long run until the shadow is all gone.)

Upon first glance, my favorite colors in the 15th anniversary palette are: Omen, Midnight 15, Vanilla, Flow, Deeper, and MIA. We'll see if those are still favorites once I get a chance to try them out! I'm planning on trying to swatch the colors tonight, so I'll try to upload some photos tomorrow of how they look against my fair skin.

Also included in my box from Sephora was a freebie available to VIBS - a deluxe size spray of Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue fragrance. I'm excited to try it out, as I posted in my previous blgo post - because it seems to be reviewed as a universally flattering perfume. (And I've also heard that almost all males love it on women, so we'll see if my husband takes notice at all!)

And just because it arrived in the mail at the same time that my Sephora box arrived... here are a few items that I ordered from MAC while they were having their free shipping promotion. Blankety lipstick and Evolution Revolution lipglass.

Here's a quick swatch of what they look like on, great neutrals for everyday!

MAC Blankety lipstick on left; MAC Evolution Revolution lipglass on right