Pür Minerals Soul Mattes Eyeshadow Palette

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I love a good matte shadow, but finding those that perform well is not always easy.  When I saw the Soul Mattes palette ($32) with it's emphasis on pink/rosy shades, I thought it looked like a nice addition to round out my matte collection.  Soul Mattes  is my first venture into Pür Minerals territory, and it turns out to have been a very good buy!

Everything about this palette is quality, from the outer envelope packaging, to the metal container, to the brush, to the shadows themselves.  The 8 shadow companions (their phrasing, not mine) in this cruelty-free palette are:

• Sweetheart (pale pink)
• Companion (vanilla)
• Adore (puce)
• Better Half (raspberry)
• Alter Ego (plum)
• Sidekick (mocha)
• BFF (cinnamon)
• Confidant (tea rose)

My favorite way to wear matte shadows is over a cream shadow base, usually one with some shimmer to it.  The matte shadows tone down the shimmer, but the cream base keeps the matte shadows from looking flat.  I also love matte shadows for transitioning color in the crease.  The paler shades in this palette worked well as brow shades or to minimize discolorations and brighten my eye area.

These shadows are talc free, which I think helps cut down on the chalky/powdery effect that many matte shadows have.  Worn over primer, I got a good 7-8 hours of wear on my oily lids before I noticed fading/creasing.  Overall, I'm quite impressed with this palette!

Chocolate Suede 24/7 Color Tattoo by Maybelline

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

My love affair with Maybelline's 24/7 Color Tattoo cream shadows continues, although the intensity of my affection for each of them varies.  Fortunately, Chocolate Suede from the Leather collection lands on the stronger side of the affection spectrum.

Chocolate Suede can create a deep smoky brown eye or it can go a bit more subtle as an eyeliner.  My biggest issue was blending, as the darkness of the color made it difficult to transition into softer colors.  While up close shots make it look patchy, it doesn't really appear that way from normal distances.

Chocolate Suede wore for a solid 8 hours before I started to notice fading/disintegration.  I've got extremely oily lids, so that's pretty decent for me. 

At about $6 each, I'll continue to buy these as long as Maybelline continues to release them :-)

Big Apple Tinted Lip Balm by Cailyn Cosmetics

Disclaimer:  I won this in a contest.

First of all, "tinted lip balm" is a bit of a misnomer for this highly pigmented lip color.  Lip balm to me evokes images of something that is emollient and moisturizing, which I did not find with Big Apple.  What I did find was an easy to wear, superbly pigmented, weightless, long wearing ruby red lip color.

The brush pulls out of the top of the container, and while small, works well to both line and fill the lips.  The texture of Big Apple is rather dense/stiff without being heavy, and is formulated with color stabilized pigments for long lasting wear.  Big Apple does leave behind a stain, and the arm swatch has been hanging in there for almost 3 days now.  That's after a shower.  Impressive.

You can go from a sheer wash of color to full on intensity with Big Apple.  I'll all about matte finishes these days, and this one was smooth and did not emphasize my lip lines.  It feels dry on but I did not notice it adversely affecting my lips, but then again I did not wear it for multiple days in a row.  I definitely would not call it moisturizing, however.

Lighter application

 I liked Big Apple ($19) enough that I got another one in, you guessed it, coral:-)

Mood Exposure Ambient Lighting Blush by Hourglass

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I think the Ambient Lighting blushes ($35) are something you either get, or you don't.  Or more likely, it's a matter of personal preference/skin chemistry/complexion color/yada yada yada.  Personally, I love them, which is way I picked up my third one in the form of Mood Exposure.  Approximately 2 weeks or so before Hourglass released their Ambient Lighting Blush palette, which also contains Mood Exposure plus two other colors.  Palms face.

Yeah, I ended up getting the blush palette too, I like them that much.  But that's okay, as each blush is slightly different depending on the ratio of the soft plum blush to the Mood Light powder combined with it.  The full sized compact I received has more of the plum blush, whereas the smaller Mood Exposure in the blush palette has more of the Mood Light powder.  It did make a slight difference in the color intensity between the two.

Mood Exposure is described as a soft plum, but it leans distinctly warmer in tone to me.  Perhaps if you combined the orange pulp of a plum with the skin, that would capture the color better :-)  Regardless, I've been reaching for this blush a lot, as the skin enhancing soft glow and excellent wear on my oily skin continues to impress me.

In fact, the Ambient Lighting Blushes have joined Estee Lauder Pure Color blushes as my favorites.  I hope they release more colors!

Giorgio Armani Eye & Brow Maestro in Medium Brown 04

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I picked up two of the Giorgio Armani Eye & Brow Maestro gels ($34) in Gold 09 (review here) and Medium Brown 04 a few months back.  I wanted to use the Medium Brown one for a while before reviewing, as I was initially unsure of my feelings for it.  Well, I've formed some firm impressions now, and here they are!

A bit of background on this new offering from Giorgio Armani Beauty:  these gel creams are billed as a multi-tasker that can work as a brow shaper, eyeliner, eyeshadow, hair root touch-up and contour all in one.  That's appealing, but also where some of my ambivalence for Medium Brown started.  This was the color that had the most potential to serve as both a eyeliner/eyeshadow/brow tint for me.  One of those three gives me the warm fuzzies, but the other two?  Not so much.

As a brow gel, I really like Medium Brown.  I apply with a dense, short haired eye liner/smudger brush, and then comb it out with a spool brush.  I like the subtle shimmer in it, which mimics the gleam that your hair naturally has.  These gels are waterproof and are supposed to wear for 20 hours.  While I can't speak to that length of wear, I've not had any issues with them smudging or fading for a full day of wear.

Medium Brown 04 as eyebrow tint, Gold 09 as eyeshadow

As an eyeshadow I found Medium Brown to be problematic, in that I could not get smooth coverage for the life of me.  It was hard to blend out and seemed to go patchy no matter what I did.  The Gold one I loved as an eyeshadow, however, so there ya go.

I checked my Maybelline Color Tattoo 24/7 cream shadows to see if I had any dupes, but I don't.  You'll notice that Armani Medium Brown is quite pigmented, which may be way I'm having difficulty using it as an eyeshadow.  As a brow tint, I use the tiniest amount on the brush for my entire brow, so I think this will last me until like, death.  Or until it dries up. 

NOTD: Naked without Polish by Rescue Beauty Lounge

I'm not normally a pink polish person, but something about Naked without Polish from the Fan Collection 2.0 drew me in during the recent Rescue Beauty Lounge (RBL) buy 2 get 1 free sale.  RBL polishes are on the pricey side at $20 each, so you can bet I spent a lot of time pondering and perusing swatches before I hit the purchase button.

Fortunately, I have no regrets with this one!  My pictures don't really convey the glow from within quality from the seafoam green shimmer in the soft pink base.  The gold flecks within the base also keep this from being only a springtime color, as they reflect the same shade as the brown, crackling leaves currently falling from the trees here in Mobile.

The formula was easy to work with and this is two coats with Zoya's base and top coat.  I can see this as a great neutral color for me, as it really complements my skin tone.  Quite lovely!  Linking up with The Nail Files hosted by Jennie Shaw:

Sephora VIB Holiday Sales Event: What I Got

The Sephora VIB Holiday Sale (code GIFTVIB) started today and runs through November 10th.  I did some early morning shopping after waking up at 3 am.  Rather than toss and turn trying to go back to sleep, I decided I might as well be the early bird and all....also, Ebates is offering an 8% (today only) rebate at Sephora.

Source:  Sephora.com

However, I must be getting jaded, as little was really appealing to me.  There are lots of great holiday sets available, but I may have met my makeup threshold for the time being.  I ended up going with the Sephora Favorites Skin Wonderland set, along with Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar & Nail Lacquer set in Grandma to hit the free shipping threshold.

Source:  Sephora.com

I also noticed that several other beauty retailers had their own sales going on at the same time, giving Sephora a bit of competition.  Beauty.com has a Friends & Family 20% sale through Friday, November 7th.  Ulta enticed me with same extra Ulta dollars, and I was able to do some Christmas shopping for my mother and snag a Urban Decay 5 piece GWP set for myself.

Ulta 4-hr only sale yesterday

While my Sephora purchase did extend my VIB status through next year, I've been gravitating more towards Ulta this year due to all of their great sales, GWP offers, and loyalty program. 

Christmas present for mother

What about you?  Did you take advantage of any of the sales for Christmas gifts or treats for yourself?