Bite Beauty Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub

Today's featured product is not for those without willpower.  This is one of those few cosmetics items that smells good enough to eat! (And since Bite only uses organic, food-grade ingredients I bet you could, but don't, ok?).

Like all good lip lines, Bite Beauty has their own lip scrub.  Many of us use either Fresh or Lush scrubs, so I'll try to compare to those.

The Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub is probably the most amazing thing I've ever smelled. I was joking that the indentation in the tester was probably a nose print. It's that amazing.  It smells like the best cherry desert you've ever smelled.

It retails for $18/0.28oz and is carried exclusively at Sephora.

The container itself has decent weight and feels substantial in your hand.  When you flip it over, there's no mistaking the product:

The scrub itself smells like cherry heaven.  It's a light pink in color, and smoother than a lot of lip scrubs in texture.

In terms of performance, I really enjoy this scrub.  It's very gentle and many people don't claim to see a real difference.  My lips often hurt after using Fresh or Lush's scrubs to the extent that I need lip balm to soothe them.  I get a nice exfoliation with the Bite scrub, without the pain. This is far more moisturizing as well.

Bottom Line: I love it. I didn't set out to purchase it, but after one whiff, I was in love.  This is perfect for my sensitive lips.

DIY Brush Holder

Today I bring you one of my best Beauty DIY tips: using a kitchen tools holder as a makeup brush holder.

Materials required: large container, glass beads (from your local crafts and hobby store).

I actually have two of these large Le Creuset containers and one small; I need to pick up another small one to split my eyeshadow brushes.

Step 1: Get a kitchen tools holder

Step 2: Get glass beads from your local craft/hobby store.

Step 3: Fill the container with the beads (they provide a stable base for your brushes and allow them to stand up).  Ideally, it will be filled between 2/3 and 3/4 of the way (the brushes will push the stones up even higher)

Step 4: Arrange your brushes in the beads.

Step 5: Enjoy!

NOTD: Maybelline Color Show Dotty

I'm going to apologize in advance for the quality of these photos, but this is one time where my current mani really is the NOTD. Unfortunately, I'm also pretty sick, so I couldn't go outside to take photos.  On another note, thank goodness for pre-written posts!

Today's Halloween mani is Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots Polish #65-Dotty.  These are three coats of this polish.

This is a pretty sheer but buildable color. Dotty has an orange base, with white and black hexagonal glitters.

RiRi Hearts MAC Her Cocoa Eyeshadow Quad

I've held off almost a month on reviewing this quad and am totally breaking one of my own rules about limited edition products.  It's been years since I picked up a MAC eyeshadow quad, and grabbed this on a whim.

True story: I just happened to wander by the MAC counter on the day these hit counters and decided to play with the tester and purchased the last quad.  There were 2 quads in this iteration of the RiRi Hearts MAC collaboration- Her Cocoa is the lighter of the two.

Let's start with the packaging- adorable!  This box is a light pink metallic.

The actual quad has a clear front, with the RiRi Hearts MAC logo on the front, trimmed out in rose gold:

The back is shiny rose gold:

Here's a great shot of the shadows:

Shade 1 is a highly metallic gold shimmer.
Shade 2 is a light peach with faint shimmer.
Shade 3 is a deep, warm brown with shimmery copper tint.
Shade 4 is a neutral-toned shimmery milk chocolate brown.

Here they are, swatched:

I was ready to do a ton of comparisons, but since the palette is already sold out, I won't be posting all of them.

I was shocked to find how much fallout happened when applying these shadows. I can't remember if all MAC shadows are like this, but it's a major turn-off. In terms of color payoff, it's great and I can see myself wearing any number of looks from this palette.  I wish I'd known about the fallout prior to purchasing, but this was a great impulse buy,

Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayon-Blaquer

Marc Jacobs makes my favorite liquid black eyeliner of all time, so I was really excited to have a chance to try the Highliner Gel Crayon.

I was lucky enough to nab this travel-sized eyeliner when Sephora offered it as a 100 point perk within the last couple of months.  I'm glad I did- because I won't be buying the full-sized version.

The Highliner Gel Crayon is a standard somewhat soft crayon eyeliner:

It's a beautiful saturated black, but this swatch photo should demonstrate exactly what I didn't like about this eyeliner:

It smudges way too easily.  It doesn't stay put for longer than a couple of hours, and it migrates all over my eye area. 

You can find this exclusively at Sephora, and in a few different shades. However, if you're looking for an eyeliner from this line, go for the liquid.

NOTD: Butter London Petrol (Holiday 2013)

Today's NOTD is my other selection from Butter London's 2013 Holiday Collection: Petrol.

Petrol is classified as an Overcoat, but it's very wearable on its own.

This is one coat:

Petrol is buildable- this is 3 coats:

I happen to like it on its own, but I put one coat over Bramble just to see what it looked like:

I think Petrol is very versatile and unique in my collection.

What's Inside My Bag? Late October Edition

It's time for another peek inside my makeup bag!

First, a note on the bag.  It's easily the best $3.99 I've spent lately.  Forever 21, on clearance.  It's burgundy faux studded leather, perfectly on trend.

• Chanel Les Beiges #10
• Clinique All About Shadow- Black Honey (review coming this week)
• Guerlain Meteorites Powder- #01 Teint Rose
• Benefit Boi-ing #01
• Caudalie Lip Conditioner
• Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment
• Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencil- Rhubarb (from the Best Bite set I reviewed a few days ago
• Julep Lip Balm- Strawberry Mint
• Lipstick Queen- Medieval (review pending, I've been slacking on this one)
• Clinique Sheer Shaper for Lip- Black Honey (review coming this week)
• Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey
• Clinique Dual-Ended Almost Lipstick/Long Last Glossware SPF15- Black Honey (review coming soon)
• NARS Creamy Concealer- Chantilly
• Marc Jacobs Magic Marc'er Precision Pen- Blaaquer
• Stila Smudge Stick- Kitten
• Dior Diorshow Extase Mascara
• Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes #01L- Mat Black
• L'Occitaine Shea Butter Hand Cream
• Tweezerman Mini Nail File
• Hair tie
• ID On the Spot Eye Makeup Remover Swabs
• Shiseido The Pureness Oil Absorbing Sheets
• Dior Eau Delice- sample
• Laura Mercier mini dual-ended brush
• Sephora Small Eyeshadow Brush
• Sephora Professional Complexion Brush
• Ulta Retractable Kabuki

Believe it or not, there's still room in that bag!

Chanel Ligne Graphique de Chanel Liquid Eyeliner

I've actually been holding off on this review for awhile because I just didn't want to admit it following my insatiable need for this product.

The Chanel Ligne Graphique de Chanel Liquid Eyeliner in Bronze is from the Holiday 2013 collection.  I fell in love with the color swatched on my hand.  I've only recently begun to play with liquid eyeliners (in the past few months), so I'm not an expert.  I've also never tried other colors in this formula.


This is an exquisite bronze liquid eyeliner that looks flawless on the hand.  It's on the eye that I started to struggle with this product.  It was patchy and streaky- and almost impossible to add a second coat. I'm also not a fan of the applicator.

Here are some swatches:

Inside, no flash

Inside, with flash

Outside

It's a beautiful color- but I wish it wasn't as patchy on application to the eye or buildable.  This is an example of a product that's almost there but not quite perfect. I've been playing with this for 3.5 weeks and can't find a winning combination to justify the pricetag.

Pricing/Availability: $34, via Chanel counters or Chanel dot com. This is limited edition for Holiday 2013.

NOTD: Butter London Bramble (Holiday 2013)

Today's NOTD is the first of my two selections from Butter London's Holiday 2013 collection.  Butter London Bramble is a stunning eggplant creme that's much darker than the press photos.

Photo via Butter London

The Holiday 2013 collection contains three cremes and three overcoats.  Bramble is the only new creme, the other two are Come to Bed Red and Union Jack Black.

Bramble is an eggplant creme which photographs even darker than it sits on the nail:

Swatches are with two coats, plus topcoat.

Quick Five: Favorite Colors this Fall

Today's Quick Five isn't limited to beauty products!  Looking around today, I realized that I've fallen into certain color combinations that may not be the same as everyone else is reaching for this fall.

1. Grey and Gold: I only started understanding how fabulous gold accessories were within the last couple of years.  Prior to that, I was strictly a silver woman.  Grey was one of the last colors that I hesitated to pair with gold.  I'm not sure why I waited- there's something understated about it.

2. Black Honey: I'm obsessing over all products in this color.  I know I'm not the only one!

3. Camel and Black/ Camel and Teal/ Camel and Burgundy: Camel has become a go-to this Fall for me, and I'm continually learning just how versatile it is.

4. Teal and Mustard: I have an outfit that I'm dying to bring out for an event because it's still a bit bold for the workplace.

5. Black and White: This shouldn't be a shocker to anyone since it's been on-trend for several seasons now.  It's allowing me to take baby steps towards mixing patterns, which I'm having a blast with.


So, what colors are you living in this fall?

Clinique Gel Blush in Black Honey

Today's dose of Black Honey goodness is Clinique Gel Blush.  This is a GWP size and I'm not sure when this was originally offered.

Admittedly, I'm not used to working with a squeeze tube of blush:

It's quite scary out of the tube:

But blended out, not so bad:

Outside

Inside, with flash

Overall, it's a beautiful shade that works on a number of skintones.

NOTD: Giorgio Armani Nail Lacquer #702

Today's NOTD is a double NOTD/formula review post.  My heart is breaking as I type up this post because I couldn't wait to try the newly-released Giorgio Armani nail lacquers and made at least 4 trips to the store in search of them.  (3 to my local Nordstrom- which apparently doesn't have a counter manager and hasn't bothered to find the lacquers in the back despite showing up in the store inventory online, and finally I was able to find it at Neiman Marcus.)

Giorgio Armani re-introduced nail lacquers to the beauty line within the past month.  As far as I know, the colors don't have a name but are referred to by their numbers.  I haven't tried anything from this line but have been wanting to for quite awhile.  I figured that, as a nail addict, these would be the perfect introduction to the brand.  If this is what the rest of the brand is like, I will be running as far away as possible.  I already had a bad taste in my mouth from trying to find these polishes, but the actual formula is among the worst I've ever tried.

If I wasn't afraid of wasting another $20, I'd try a creme rather than the metallic shade I selected to see if it behaved any better. #702 is a pearly metallic white with green tinge that can be built to opaque.  That's the good part. I find it different enough from other metallics I own to be unique in my collection.

This has the worst dry time of any polish I've ever tried.  3 hours after painting my nails, I was still gouging them.  I know it's not a problem with my application technique since I've never had an issue to this extent before.

My other complaint is the size of the bottle. It's a 6ml bottle. In contrast, Dior bottles are 10ml, Chanel are 13ml, and Butter London is 11ml. Price/ml wise, it's $3.33/ml; Dior $2.40; Chanel $2.08; Butter London $1.36. Three tries at a mani used up nearly half a bottle. The formula is not superior to Chanel or Dior, and it's far more expensive.  Consider me disappointed.

I had such high hopes for this brand, but it's very expensive in contrast to other high-end brands and the formula just won't behave.  This is a terrible first impression from a brand to me.  I wanted to love it, but I just can't.

Le Metier de Beaute Hydra-Creme Lipstick- Rose Garnet

When was the last time that the first time you put a new lipstick on your lips, you said "ohhhh" out loud because it was just so buttery, luxurious, and amazing?

For me, it hadn't happened before.  And then I met the brand-new Hydra-Creme Lipsticks from Le Metier de Beaute.  I'm not the type to fall for a lipstick, but I can see a long. healthy relationship developing.

I found this new formula at my local LMdB counter at Neiman Marcus- Nordstrom did not have the product available yet.  I nabbed the last in this shade, so it's clearly a fast favorite.

Let's start with the basics: the packaging.  Yes, it looks similar to Clinique's iconic lipstick tube.  Trust me, it's anything but.

Plus, others are jumping on this trend lately:

Rose Garnet is a beautiful, saturated rosy pink with a bit of a pearl finish:

These photos don't do it justice.  But here's some swatches anyhow:

Inside, no flash

Inside with flash

Outside

 

 

 

It's stunning on my lips:

Outside

Inside, no flash

Inside, flash

This color doesn't tell the real story of this formula. I've never experienced anything quite like it.  It glides on like a lip butter, moisturizes like a balm, and has the finish and color of a high-end lipstick. The closest thing I can think of in my collection is Lipstick Queen Jean Queen in terms of the moisturizing properties, but I'd easily put this above all others.

At $25, this is less than most of the super high end lipsticks, and is a true value.  I'm going to nab a couple other shades in this range down the line, but I'll be having a love affair with Rose Garnet in the meantime.

Sunday Dreaming

This week's edition of Sunday Dreaming is a combination of items that I saw while browsing the mall on Friday and things I've been looking at online for awhile.

Beauty and Fragrance:

Giorgio Armani Flash Lip Lacquer- #529 ($29)

While browsing the counter to nab another shade (review pending), and this lovely shade almost made me reconsider my purchase.  If I wasn't such a lipstick woman (rather than gloss), I'd have gotten both at once.


Bite Beauty Lip Brush ($20)

I'm starting to have a major Bite Beauty problem!  After not being impressed with the mini palette I bought last Black Friday, I'm obsessing over everything I try from this brand.  I've been searching for a good lip pencil, so this is high on my list of items to try!


Bite Beauty High Pigment Matte Pencil- Violet ($24)

I've been staring at this shade online, swatched it in-store, and am back to staring at it online. I'm glad that neither my local SiJCP (which is way too close for my wallet's comfort) or my closest freestanding Sephora (a bit further, but still very accessible) carry Bite.  I don't like using testers in-store on my lips, so I didn't get to see what the color looked like on me. I think it's going to be too bold, but I can't stop staring.





Jewelry:


I'm going to give up one of my biggest secrets when it comes to cheap chic: Forever 21 jewelry. I used to feel a little odd fighting for space with young teens that I could've easily given birth to, but I'm all about finding a deal. Plus, costume jewelry trends change so frequently that I don't want to invest in many expensive pieces.  Here are a couple of pieces I'm thinking about:

Traveler's Charm Necklace ($6.80)

This is an adorable multi-metal piece that would work with anything.

Bejeweled Bib Necklace ($12.80)

I already own the black and teal versions of this necklace already and find them very versatile. They're on-trend and look far more expensive than they are.

Oversized Chain-Link Bracelet ($6.80)

I love black and gold- and this bracelet is perfect.