Juliette Has a Gun Bullet Purse Spray and Samples

Disclaimer:  I won this in a contest.

I came home last week to an unexpected package, which turned out to contain all you see above.  I had won a contest sponsored by Beauty Undercover and Juliette Has a Gun!  I love those kind of surprises :-)

I was vaguely familiar with Juliette Has a Gun, at least enough to know their focus is perfume.  What I did not know is that it's a Paris based fragrance house that was established by Romano Ricci, the great-grandson of famed fashion couturier Nina Ricci and grandson of Robert Ricci, the progenitors of  L'Air du Temps.  Ah, the family tradition continues.

With more of an edge, however, as befits the era.  Juliette refers to Shakespeare's Juliette, but she's got a gun now.  Is she pissed, or just packing to send a message to those that might mess with her?

"This is William Shakespeare's Juliette with a ying of innocence and a yang of getting even with anyone who double crosses her, the modern woman. Only this time she is armed! The bullets are rose-filled, each scent a scenario playing around a different rose specie, a fragrant Shakespearian saga."  (Source:  Basenotes.net) 

The bullet shaped Universal Purse Spray atomizer ($35) definitely makes a statement.  It has a nice heft to it and is easy to refill, I'm quite tickled with this.  I've currently got it filled with a sample of Romantina, whose notes are listed as musk, orange blossom, and vanilla from Madagascar, in addition to rose, of course.  It's actually quite light and dissipates rather quickly on my skin, but lingers nicely on my clothes.  I like it!

Each sample came packaged in an envelope, sealed with the name of the perfume and with a description card inside.  The French are masters at presentation.  I'll never forget the care with which a simple pastry was wrapped, bow on a box, when I was in Paris years ago.  Just lovely.

The English translation (and spelling) are a bit off at times, which just goes to show you can't be perfect at everything :-)  I received Not a Perfume in the Recharge Bullet refillable size ($50), so between that and the 5 samples of Romantica, Mad Madame, Miss Charming, Lady Vengeance, and Anyway, I'll get a nice feel for the Juliette Has a Gun line.  Très nice.  Also, don't forget to enter the Clinique GWP set giveaway!

Fiery Red & Bold Blush Colour Riche Pop Balms by L'Oreal

I've got two of the four new Colour Riche Pop Balms that L'oreal released not long ago - Fiery Red and Bold Blush.  This are supposed to be a moisturizing lip balm that provides sheer color, and they deliver on both counts!

Bold Blush, Fiery Red

Bold Blush is a medium cool leaning bubble gum pink.  The formula applies smoothly and color can be built up, although balm is the operative word here.  These do no irritate my lips like some balm formulas do, and I find them moisturizing with about a 3 hour wear time.

Fiery Red is a bit of misnomer, as I find the color more of a soft strawberry.  It's a very wearable red for me, and I like the translucent gel like quality to it.  It's less pigmented than say, the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters in Candy Apple or Cherry Tart, with more of a balm like texture.

Fiery Red

The Colour Riche Pop Balms are about $7-$8 depending on location, and I got mine from Ulta during a 40% off sale.  Très like! 

Dont forget to enter the Clinique GWP set giveaway!

Golden Black Water Resistant Eyeliner by Jane Cosmetics

Jane Cosmetic's Water Resistant Eyeliner is a budget friendly ($8) liquid eyeliner that is supposed to be long-wearing and water-resistant, both of which are true.  It was also fairly easy to get a precise line with the long, thin brush.

Golden Black is a dirty gold, with gold flecks suspended in a blackish gel base.  It doesn't provide opaque coverage, as you can see in the swatches below, but it does provide color with glints of gold. 

There were times I'd look in the mirror and see gold sparkles, depending on the light.  I quite liked the look, as it didn't scream 'glitter' to me, although I'm sure you could amp up that effect with a thicker line.

 Don't forget to enter the Clinique GWP giveaway!

NYX Chiffon

Like most baked formulas NYX's Baked Blushes are designed to be used dry or wet, depending on how much color you want.  Dry gives sheer color, wet more impact.  For blush, I prefer sheer, so that's what I'm showing in the swatches.

Chiffon is a soft mauve pink with shimmer.  I'm somewhat sparkle averse when it comes to blush, but Chiffon doesn't emphasize my pores or make my skin look oily, so it falls nicely into the "glowing" as opposed to "glitter" category.

Chiffon (sun)

Chiffon (shade)

It took some building up to get the color in the swatches, about 4 applications with a dense brush.  Fortunately, you can build color without it getting cakey. 

So how does NYX's baked blushes compare to Laura Geller's Blush 'n Brighten baked blushes?  Pretty darn well, IMO, especially when you factor in the price difference.  NYX baked blushes are about $7 vs. Geller's $26.50, and with the 40% off sales featured frequently at Ulta on NYX products, only about $4.20.  That's hard to beat.

Don't forget to enter the Clinique product giveaway!

July Women's Health Birchbox

 Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

July's Birchbox featured the second year of the Women's Health box, which included a free year of Women's Health magazine.  Confession:  last year I forgot to mail my free subscription card in so missed out on that feature, need to do it this year!

July also brought a new feature that Birchbox has adopted:  limited box customization.  I was given the choice of Ruffian polish colors from the Rapture collection, and selected the lovely metallic rose gold Rosary ($10).  This is the second Ruffian Birchbox exclusive polish I've received, but have yet to try either.  Need to get on that.

I love facial oils, so Caudalie's Overnight Detox Oil was a welcome sight.  The sample will probably only give me 2-3 uses, but OTOH, that's perfect for travel.

The Spanish brand Naobay is a new to me, but I'm liking the ingredient list with it's emphasis on Shea butter, olive oil and aloe vera.   Organically grown, to boot.

I have to give props to Benefit for their packaging - they really excel in that area!  What was a little funny was how little of the balm is contained in the super cute container.  Oh well, the swatches of the new Benetint balms I've seen are pretty sheer anyhow, so I doubt it will be a game changer for me.  I did read somewhere that they are meant to be layered over the respective lip/cheek tint, which makes sense.

I've grown fond of Beauty Protector hair products from receiving them as samples in Birchboxes, and the Treatment Mask is another nice item from their collection. I like the scent and it left my hair soft and shiny, so no complaints here. 

I'm too brain dead at the moment to figure out the box total value, but suffice it to say Birchbox continues to make me happy!  They've already sent emails with further customization options for Agust's box, but I decided I wanted to be completely surprised instead :-)

Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway for Clinique products!

Santa Fe Essential Lip Color by Cargo

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Santa Fe ($22) is one of those my lips but better kind of colors that Cargo describes as a "deep apricot", with a barely there shimmer thrown in for good measure.  This is the kind of color that registers as "boring" when you look at it in the tube, but that translates to a flattering natural look when worn. 

Best of all, the formula is moisturizing, comfortable to wear, and fairly long lasting at 3-4 hours wear time.  The formula features Shea butter, olive and Jojoba oils for moisturizing and peptides that supposedly reinforce the connective tissue of the lips to plump them up.  Definitely a solid performer, I like! 

Gemini Kiss Lip Kaleidoscope by Le Métier de Beauté

Gemini Kiss lip kaleidoscope was Le Métier de Beauté's last item for the 2013 VIP subscription program, which ends things with a bang! 

 

Gemini Kiss makes my 3rd lip kaleidoscope, along with Bauhaus and Red Rapture.  What makes this one a bit different are the half pans of color featuring eight separate lip shades, four with a softer glossy texture and four with a firmer lip cream formula.  I'm all about variety of choice, so this pleases me :-)

Going from top to bottom, we have:

 

Now for the swatches:

I'm so looking forward to playing with these with their multiple color combinations!  Based on previous experience, I'm a fan of  Le Métier de Beauté's gloss formula, and find them to be comfortable and fairly long wearing.  Lip Kaleidoscopes are $125(!) each, and this version of Gemini Kiss is exclusive to the VIP program.  There is another version of Gemini Kiss available at Neiman Marcus, or at least I'm assuming it's a different version based on their photos. 

/Happy Camper.