Genuine Glow Highlighting Creme for Face and Eyes in Bare Blush

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

This is a product that seems to be flying under the radar, as I really have not seen much posted about it. Which is a shame, because Estee Lauder's Genuine Glow Highlighting Creme ($20) is quite lovely!

Available in three shades, Gleam Glow, Sweetest Thing, and Bare Blush, I opted for Bare Blush as it seemed the lightest option of the three. Online swatches were few and far between so it was really a toss up, but fortunately Bare Blush has not left me disappointed. These twist up cream pens are touted as a "highlighting wash of color", and Bare Blush has a slight pink undertone with just enough icy shimmer to give it impact without looking frosty or metallic when blended out on the skin.

The applicator is a twist up pen with a soft cushion on the end. I find the size of the cushion is just right if I want to touch it to the corner of my eyes, as it will leave a small dot of the cream that I then tap on with my fingers. I also tap it along the tops of my cheeks, down the bridge of my nose, on my brow, and on my cupid's bow to highlight all the usual places. It does not interfere with my foundation and using my fingers to smooth it out has given me the best results.

God knows I did not need another highlighter, but I'm happy to have this in my collection. It has a 4.8 out of 5 star rating on the Lauder site, and I think it's definitely a hidden gem if you don't mind a click pen applicator. Fortunately, this one is working well to date, as I don't have a problem with product gushing out.

I'd say the biggest drawback is that you are getting a mere .11 ounces for your $20, but the amount I use is also quite small, so I would imagine this will last me quite some time.

Smoky Eye 3 Minute Beauty Set by Estee Lauder

Smoky eyes and me, well, I've yet to really figure that one out. I still try and all, but my narrow eyes and fair coloring just seem to be at odds with the whole smoky eye thing. However, I'm in love with Estee Lauder's Little Black Primer and am collecting them like crazy, so this set appealed to me on several levels.

You get a black patent carrying case with a nice double sided mirror, Sumptuous Infinite mascara (deluxe travel size), Little Black Primer (deluxe travel size), and Magic Smoky shadow pencil in Burnt Black for $32.50.

I've been using the Little Black Primer for over a month now and it will be a staple going forward. It definitely adds "oomph" to my less than obvious lashes, plus it makes any (ANY) mascara I pair it with smudge proof. That's a godsend to my lower lash line in particular, as my oily skin tends to make most mascaras smudge. An added bonus is that it wipes easily off my skin, yet once it's on the lashes, it doesn't budge. I do find my mascara harder to remove in the evenings, as this makes mascaras waterproof whether you wear it under or over lashes, in my experience.

The Sumptuous Infinite mascara is both a lengthening and volumizing mascara with stretchable fibers that fuse with the lashes as the mascara dries.  I would not have guessed fibers were in the formula, as it seems like any wet mascara formula when I apply.  I do like the brush, as I find smaller brush heads easier to maneuver on my small eyes.  Sumptuous Infinite mascara is supposed to be clump-resistent, flakeproof, smudgeproof, and sweat and humidity resistant.  I've only worn it paired with the Little Black Primer, and I'd say it's meeting it wear claims quite well in the swamp like climate of Mobile, AL.

The Magic Smoky shadow pencil in Burnt Black is a soft, hazy looking black that is easy to apply and smudge out.  Building up to opaque black is not really going to happen unless you wear a dark base underneath, but I do like the precision that the pencil gives when applying along the lash lines.  Plus, it's easy to buff out edges with a brush, so there is a fair amount of flexibility with this type of pencil shadow formula.  Intensity of color is not how these work, though, so think "smoke" instead.

I opted to wear black, smoky eyes on November 1 and 2, which are the days when The Day of the Dead is typically celebrated. I guess I needed a reason, as I'm a bit shy about wearing intense makeup looks to work :-)  The first day I wore the pencil without a dark base underneath and wasn't quite happy with the result, although it was definitely more work appropriate than when I went all balls out on day 2.

I primarily used Estee Lauder products both days, including the Double Wear Lite foundation in 2.0 mixed with Bronze Goddess Summer Glow Illuminator in equal parts. The color palette for day 1 and full FOTD:

The second day I used Milani's Shadow Eyez pencil in Black Ink as a base for Burnt Black, with two Pur Cosmetics matte shadows in BFF and Adore to blend out the crease.  I lined my upper and lower lash lines with Urban Decay's Perversion 24/7 pencil, which was an exercise in futility. Nothing stays on my water lines more than 10 minutes.

I was a little scared to leave the house once I was finished, but figured what the heck, I'm observing the Day of the Dead, after all. I really do love the whole concept of remembering loved ones who are no longer with us, and hope someone leaves out chocolate, flowers, and liquor for me once I'm gone.

Necklace I picked up in Albuquerque, NM

Estee Lauder Color Portfolio

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

I'm a fan of Estee Lauder's annual Color Portfolio's, as I find them an economical way to collect a variety of the Pure Color shadow, blush, and lip shades.  I did not purchase last year's version, but succumbed to temptation with this year's Color Portfolio ($39.50 with purchase), and thought I would put some swatches up in case you are considering it as well. These can sell out fast!

The sides of the palette pull out to reveal the blush shades, 3 on each side.  I love Estee Lauder's Pure Color blush formula, but I know they recently reformatted the formula so this gives me a chance to try them out.

The shadows are selections from the Pure Color quads, which are new to me as well. Names are on the back of the palette, and I like how the colors are divided into warm shades on the left and cooler shades on the right.

There are a mixture of shimmer, satin, and matte finishes.  I was surprised at how pigmented and creamy/dense the matte shades were and wish there were more of them in the palette, as they are lovely.  A few of the colors were disappointing in their lack of pigment and took some building up, namely Silver Edge  and Fierce Safari 3 (the numbers refer to the shadows position in the quads).

I'll be forming more opinions once I have the opportunity to play with these and will post some reviews, as the quads are quite pricey ($52) and there are not a lot of reviews that I've seen.

The disappointing shade in the cooler toned palette is Provocative Petal 1.  It barely registers at all, and I did swatch these over primer. Overall most do look promising.

The Pure Color lipsticks are lovely, although cream with shadows palettes are always problematic. I will probably depot these into a palette so that the there is no shadow transfer, and in fact have a Z palette on it's way from the recent Ulta 20% off sale.

The Pure Color Kajal pencils in Blackened Black and Blackened Cocoa are smaller than the usual sample sizes.  I love Blackened Cocoa and use the ones I've collected several times a week.

The gloss this year is Reckless Bloom, which provides more sparkle than color. It's pretty and I do like the formula of Estee Lauder's glosses.

The blushes are smaller than in the 2013 and 2014 Color Portfolio palettes that I have, but you do get two more.  They are just big enough to fit most blush brushes, but it is a bit awkward considering you don't want to kick up much powder with the lipsticks right in the vicinity.  I will probably depot this as well and create a large blush palette with all the Pure Color blushes from the portfolios.

 I'm curious to compare the formulas between the older shades I have and the new reformulated ones.  At first swatch, Sensuous Rose does not appear as pigmented, but I've yet to swatch them side by side.












These are buildable and what I love about the Pure Color Blush formula is that I find them skin enhancing and natural looking.  The two new shades to my collection are Brazen Bronze and Pink Ingenue.

I purchased my Color Portfolio from Nordstrom during a GWP event, as I like to stack a purchase with purchase special with a GWP if I can find one.  A great site to keep abreast of GWP's is GWP Addict, and you can also sign up for emails to alert you.

Magic Powder Smoky Stick in Indigo Smoke by Estee Lauder

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

The Magic Powder Smoky Stick ($22) by Estee Lauder is supposed to make doing a smoky eye easy, but I was just interested in seeing what a powder formula in a chubby pencil is like.  I rarely do a smoky eye as my eyes are small and narrow, which isn't the best eye shape for that type of effect, IMO. Or maybe I'm just doing it wrong, who knows?  I did give it a valiant effort in light of this review, but more on that below.

However, I regularly use pencils to line my upper and lower lids, and this seemed like a good candidate for that. I chose Indigo Smoke from the 8 available colors, which has a soft navy powder base with lighter blue shimmer sparkles in the mix.

Indigo Smoke lays down a sheer wash of color that can be built up somewhat, but keep that whole "smoke" concept in mind, as opaque color really isn't the goal. I found the pencil easy to use but my biggest concern was having it transfer from my lash line onto my lid, something that can happen on my hooded eyes if the color does not lock into place.

I'm happy to report I didn't have issues with transfer, so yay for Indigo Smoke!  I did feel like I needed a more opaque liner closest to my lash line for definition, and used Lorac's Front of the Line Pro liquid eyeliner in Navy for that. I'm liking how this turned out.

Now on to my smoky eye effort.  Considering I had two meetings in a somewhat conservative environment the day I was testing this, consider this a daytime smoky eye.  I smoked out the blue with several taupe shadows, as on it's own I was just getting to much of a "blue eyeshadow" look/vibe.

It came out okay, but I still think my eye shape is just not conducive to a smoky eye. That's okay, as it takes longer to create than I want to invest on a work day, anyhow :-)  Of note when I used the pencil after a month of it laying around - the powder pigment had hardened and it was difficult to lay down color, perhaps due to oils from my eye when I last used it.  Sharpening the pencil solved that problem and I'm hoping that won't be the case each time I use it.

Items used for this FOTD (links are to full reviews):

• stila One Step Bronze as a primer
• Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener
• bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream 05 mixed with a dab of Becca's Ever-Matte Shine Proof Foundation in Buff
• Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Powder Bronzer in Medium
• Estee Lauder Lover's Blush
• bareMinerals Barely Nude 5-in-1 BB Cream Eyeshadow
• Estee Lauder Indigo Smoke Magic Powder Smoky Stick
• Estee Lauder Tempting Mocha and Korres Grey Brown Base shadows
• Lorac Front of the Line Pro Liquid Eyeliner in Navy
• Inika Blonde Bombshell eyebrow pencil
• Smashbox X-rated mascara
• Model Co. Illusion lip pencil topped with NYX Tres Leches Intense Butter Gloss
• Le Metier de Beaute Peau Vierge Correcteur and Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Pressed Powder

Bronze Goddess Body Shimmer Oil and Perfume by Estee Lauder

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Every summer I indulge in one or two new perfumes that I think will work well in Mobile's intense heat and humidity. Typically these are fragrances that market themselves towards the summer season, which is definitely the case with Estee Lauder's Bronze Goddess.

I was particularly interested in the Shimmering Body Oil Spray ($42), as I love a good body oil  after a shower to both moisturize and scent my skin. However, I was hesitant to invest in the perfume without smelling it first, so I went with a 5 ml decant ($13.75) from Surrender to Chance, which sells perfume samples and fragrance decants.

Here are the notes as listed by Estee Lauder:

Sensuous Notes
Amber. Coconut Milk. Sandalwood. Vanilla. Vetiver. Myrrh
Warm Notes
Juicy Mandarin. Sicilian Bergamot. Lemon. Pulpy Orange
Radiant Notes
Tiare Flower. Jasmin. Magnolia Petals. Orange Flower Buds. Lavender

Bronze Goddess is frequently described as smelling like a day at the beach, and I'd have to agree with that. It definitely evokes skin that's been slathered with a coconut sun tan lotion that has alternately been warmed by the sun and then cooled down by a dip in the salty ocean. I still remember the frequent beach weekends of my teen years and the feel and smell of briny skin soaked by Hawaiian Tropic. Crossing my fingers that skin cancer is not in my future.

Yet it's a bit more elegant than just coconut suntan lotion on warm skin, although I'd be lying if I said I could detect the nuances of all the notes listed. While I wouldn't classify this as a light fragrance, it does have a skin scent ambiance in that it is not overpowering, which is what I try to avoid during the hot summer months.

Bronze Goddess Shimmer Body Oil ingredients

The Shimmering Body Oil spray is lovely to look at in the bottle and leaves my skin lightly scented with a soft sheen as opposed to visible shimmer. This is a dry oil and does not leave any obvious residue, just soft skin. I'm glad I got a decant of the perfume as well, as the two together give just enough fragrance that lingers for about 5-6 hours.

Estee Lauder releases Bronze Goddess each year in the spring, and reviews make me believe that each year's fragrance may be slightly different.  My decant is from 2008 (I believe), and apparently 2015's version emphasized lemon more than other years. I did read reviews saying that 2016's version smelled rather synthetic, and with current perfume ingredient limitations and trends, that would not surprise me.

I also saw more than a few comments from people saying they were underwhelmed with the fragrance of Bronze Goddess at first, but that it has grown on them with time and is now a favorite.  I'm more in the underwhelmed category right now, but am hoping to savor it with more usage. I just haven't been reaching for it as much as I thought I would, but it is a nice scent and definitely summer wear worthy.  I could even see breaking it out on a gray and chilly February day, when I need something to remind me that warm weather will be back with a vengeance.