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.

Sephora VIB Sale - 20% off

It's confirmed!

Sephora sale for VIBs starts November 8, 2012 through November 12, 2012 - use your email with barcode in your store for your 20% off or use code 'CELEBRATE' online during the VIB event.

There will also be a VIB in-store party on Thursday November 8, 2012 in the evening. Check your email for your invite!

What's in my purse makeup bag?

My purse makeup essentials!

- Sephora Mineral Makeup compact
- Too Faced Pink Leopard mini compact
- Too Faced Flat Kabuki Brush
- Dior Addict Gloss in Draped Lilac (Nordstrom LE)
- Too Faced Lipstick Lip of Luxury in Free Love
- Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Peek-a-Boo
- Tory Burch sunglasses fabric case
- Sephora hairband

Tarte Carried Away Collector's Set Review!

I've enjoyed this collector's set from Tarte so much, that I had to review it and share my favorite parts of this set!

All around, it is just an incredibly great value - 24 shadows and 8 deluxe sample size glosses would be well worth the $54 retail price... but with the additional deluxe sample size blush, full sized face brush, deluxe sample mascara, deluxe sample finishing powder, & great travel bag that is included... It makes me feel fortunate that I paid as little for the set as I did!

There are a number of stand out shadows in the palette...

- From the purple quad: Boston Brick, Spanish sangria, & Napa grapes - beautiful and unique purple tones that blend nicely together

- From the top right quad: Pearl River - a gorgeous base color that looks great all over the lid and up to the brow; Seychelles Sand - a matte gray with a hint of taupe that is great for layering

- From the top left quad: snowfall in Paris - lovely cream with a hint of gold shimmer that is great as a base or highlight; pyramid gold - subtle gold tone tan that looks lovely on the lid

- From the bottom left quad: Iceland Air, Mystic Seaport, & concrete jungle - combine for a stunning blue tone look

The shadows have above average staying power - especially when combined with my NARS Pro Prime eyeshadow primer - and I'm happy with the pigmentation in all of my favorite shadows. There are one or two shadows that I feel aren't as wearable or maybe don't have much pigmentation - but honestly, for 20 out of the 24 shadows to be winners is an overall win in my book!

And in my opinion, all of the glosses are great... not too sticky, great consistency, and moderate staying power. My favorites are the colors with a bit of shimmer to them - but all of the colors have been winners to me. I especially like them over the Dior Addict lipstick, Pink Cherie.

Also with this set, you get three deluxe sample sized products: Smooth Operator finishing powder; Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara; and Adventurous Blush (shimmering rose).

The Tarte face brush included is a full size and decent quality - I've especially liked using it to apply the  blush from the set. The Adventurer bag that the set is housed in is pretty good quality and is laid out well for travel. It has a large mirror on the inside so that you could put everything you need to do your makeup in the bag and finish it while on the go!

I think this set would make a great gift for anyone that loves makeup and is perfect if you're wanting to try out multiple items from the Tarte brand. My final verdict: It is worth the money and a great value for all of the items that are included in the set! This will be one of my favorite beauty items for Fall & Winter!

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

Favorite MAC eyeshadow look!

Here's the look done with my favorite MAC Cosmetics eyeshadows: Vanilla, Naked Lunch, Era, & Satin Taupe.

One of my favorite everyday eyeshadow looks! 

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

Disappointing Beauty Products!

These are products from beauty categories: hair, makeup, mascara, and nail polish that I was disappointed in and would not repurchase again! Some products I disliked so much that I will not even continue using them!

I try to do a fair bit of research when I'm buying cosmetics and rarely buy things on impulse - most of the time especially with more expensive items I'm pleased with them and the items perform how they are supposed to... but sometimes even when I've done research on items they just don't work out for me. Since I share my favorites fairly each month, I thought I would share some products that haven't worked out...

Hair: Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Shampoo and Garnier Fructis Flat Iron spray - both items left horrible build up on my hair and left it feeling icky!

Face: Revlon Colorstay foundation made my sensitive skin break out horribly and Revlon foundation primer worked okay, but had an over-powering floral smell that I didn't like at all.

Mascara: The wands on both Bare Minerals Flawless Definition and Benefit's They're Real mascara were disappointing and actually made my lashes clump together MORE... Benefit's They're Real and Maybelline Falsies left me with horrible smudging and smearing...

Nails: Revlon's Quick Dry polish top coat was anything but quick - and two Essie polishes that I tried were difficult to work with, had a thinner consistency than I was used to (compared to Zoya & OPI - which I LOVE), and were just generally streaky when applied. I'm going to give the Essie polishes more tries, but the first impression was overall just not good.

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.

What's in my travel makeup bag?

So we recently just got back from our trip, and I wanted to share what I packed in my travel makeup bag! These are my go-to items and things that I feel like I can really count on when I'm traveling, to give me a consistent makeup look that I know what to expect and can count on it not taking me forever to get ready!

Good job, Bella!

Cupcake (aka. Bella...) is this phase where she has started repeating "Good job, Bella!" back to us, when ever she gets praise for something I thought it was adorable and finally got her doing it on video the other day. She usually will sit next to me or play in her play room while I'm getting ready... but she's decided lately that she MUST sit on my lap and do her makeup along with me.

I thought it was adorable.

Lots of love and cupcakes to you! Hope you're having a great weekend!

My Sephora & Ulta "semi-haul" video ;)

I hate the word haul... but here are some recent purchases that I made in January & February from Sephora, Ulta, & Narscosmetics.com.

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...

Nars Lipsticks: Neutral Pink Comparison (Dolce Vita, Mayflower, Cruising, and Sexual Healing)

I've expanded my love for NARS from their long-wearing blushes to their lipsticks as well. I've tried a few NARS lipsticks in the past, but it had been a while since I had picked up anything from their lip lines so I decided to give them another try.

For day to day wear, I wear a neutral pink lip - think MAC's Blankety or Too Faced's Free Love with a gloss over them. NARS has a number of gorgeous lip colors with a pink neutral base, so I decided to give them a try!

Featured in the same order in each picture... Dolce Vita, Mayflower, Cruising, & Sexual Healing

Dolce Vita - This is probably the deepest color of the neutral pinks I've featured, but it is still a pretty one. It is more matte than the other more shimmery colors, and is close in tone to Mayflower when it is on my lips. It is still a great option for days that I want color, but I'm keeping it low key.

Mayflower - This is the first lipstick that I bought on my venture back into NARS lipsticks, searching for the lipstick featured at the top of Sephora's website. This has more of a raspberry tint to it and coincidentally is not the color featured. It is a pretty color though, and has some shimmer to it. I wear this when I want a bit of subtle color that shines.

Cruising - This is THE lipstick! Cruising is the best neutral lip lipstick shade I've found and even ranks above MAC's Blankety in my opinion. It is a true neutral and plays up the natural color of my lips. I always wear a gloss over my lipsticks, so I can choose a neutral shimmery pink gloss to make my lip color just compliment the rest of my look and not stand out. This one is LOVE!

Sexual Healing - Name I can't say in front of my parents aside... This is an awesome shade! This is the shade actually featured at the top of Sephora's website for NARS lipstick. I'd been admiring this color for quite a while now, and had tried some of the other shades above thinking they were the colors that Sephora had featured. I finally stumbled upon an answer directly from Sephora one day while reading reviews, stating that this was the color featured at the top of the page. I bought it immediately! It is a nice shimmer color, more of a neutral beige with a pink undertone in my opinion. The Sephora website makes it look pinker than it is in real life, but I still think this is a great option for every day.

All in all, NARS lipsticks are great lippies, the only complaint I have is that they are slightly dryer than some lipsticks I use. The colors are gorgeous though, and I begin my day with NARS lipsticks on my lips. Whether it is because of the shape of my lips, I'm unsure... but I do have a problem more so than most people of lipsticks or glosses lasting on my lips. I do have to re-apply multiple times a day, no matter what brand I'm using.

NARS lipsticks last a few hours before I have to re-apply and the colors are gorgeous, so these are definitely keepers in the makeup collection!