I hate it when bloggers do this

So, yes, I took another hiatus. Several months worth of hiatus, actaully. Work, family life, and grad school (OMG, grad schoooooool!) ate up all of my free time and then I got lazy and fell out of the blogging habit. Whatever, I'm back!

Moving right along, let's talk about subscription services, AKA, my new kryptonite. I started out with Birchbox, then added MyGlam, and just barely signed up for Julep Maven. Yes, I'm aware that three beauty sample subscriptions every month is excessive, but what can I say, I like getting packages in the mail.

For anyone out there who doesn't know what Birchbox, MyGlam, and Julep Maven are, they're like crack for beauty junkies. In a nutshell, each sends you a box (or bag) full of samples from various beauty, nail, hair care, and skincare lines every month. Birchbox and MyGlam are $10/month each and pull samples from a wide variety of lines. Julep Maven is $20/month and deals exclusively in nail polish and nail care items. The extra $10 allows you a sneak peek at each month's box and the option to skip it if it doesn't float your boat, plus an option to switch your box to a different one if you'd prefer.

So, the good, bad, and ugly of each service as I've experienced it:

Birchbox

Birchbox is one of the older subscription services, and probably my favorite at the moment. You never know what you're going to get with Birchbox, and in the past I've scored some really amazing stuff (Beautyblender!) and some real crap (orange energy drink powder that went straight in the trash). Mostly the box breaks down into one item I love, 2-3 I'm intrigued by, and at least one I know right away won't be for me. This month's was a tube of product for curly hair, and my hair is straight.

Thankfully I have a friend with curls, otherwise it would already be halfway to the landfill.

The Good:
-I have yet to get a 100% dud box from Birchbox. Their samples are generally well chosen and I've purchased a number of full-sized ones from their shop.

-The shop! For every product you review out of your box each month you get 10 points. 100 points equals a $10 credit in the shop. It's not Sephora, but Birchbox's selection isn't bad at all, and they're always adding new items. I've scored $40 in credits already, which is 2/3 the cost of my subscription thus far.

The Bad:
-Too many samples! If I decide to unsubscribe from Birchbox it'll be because I simply can't keep up with the samples I already have. Especially when it comes to skincare I'm wary of new products because my skin is very, very sensitive, which means the samples tend to pile up in my
dedicated sample drawer. It's more my problem than theirs, but it is becoming an issue.

The Ugly:
Birchbox's shipping is terrible. Really terrible. Takes-three-weeks-and-is-rerouted-to-California (I live in Texas, and the boxes ship from New Jersey) terrible. People in the Midwest and on the East Coast always have their boxes at least a week before I get mine, which is just inexcuseable in my book. I understand why they skimp on shipping given that I'm only paying $10 and getting a lot in return, but it still bugs me.

MyGlam:

*sigh*

MyGlam started out really well, with a launch bag offering Urban Decay and several other really nice high-end brands. It's been all downhill from there, and (fair notiice) I'm on the verge of unsubscribing because I'm so underwhelmed by what they're offering.

The Good:
-I've liked at least one thing in every bag so far, which is a plus. One month it was a really cool glitter nail polish, another month it was some chocolate samples on a day when I really needed a sweet pick-me-up. This month I also got a $25 credit towawrds a $50 purchase at Dermstore that's making me happy.
-The makeup bags each month's samples arrive in have also been uniformly decent, and several have been nice enough to give as gifts to friends. I prefer them to the Birchbox cardboard box (what else?) that just gets thrown away.
-I've also had really positive customer service experiences with them the couple of times I've contacted their team.

The Bad:
Aside from at least one solid product per bag, the rest of the samples have been really underwhelming. Plus, you'd expect a subscription service shilled by a makeup vlogger (Michelle Phan) would include mostly cosmetic samples, which has absolutely not been the case. Offhand I don't think I received a single makeup item in the March bag. This seems to be a common complaint because the MyGlam team has apparently announced that April's bag will have more cosmetics (which is the only reason I'm keeping my subscription after the March debacle--see next section). To which I say: we'll see.

The Ugly:
OMG, the March bag.

A few weeks before each bag is shipped, the MyGlam Facebook account posts teaser photos (sometimes blurred, sometimes a super closeup that makes it impossible to see brand names or details) of that month's bag contents. It's fun to try to figure out what you'll get, and I enjoy the teasers. This month they posted a close up of a pink pleather-looking thing with a caption along the lines of, "We think you'll be really excited about this item!" I was...skeptical. I got excited about a Beautyblender spounge from Birchbox (see upcoming review) and the Naked2 launch from Urban Decay. Pink pleather? Not likely to increase my heartrate anytime soon.

So the bags shipped. MyGlam has faster shipping than Birchbox (could have something to do with the fact that they're coming from California and I'm in West Texas) but I was out of town for Spring Break so I didn't get my bag until most people had already had theirs for several days. Thank goodness too, because I was prepared to face my bag when I finally got home and had time to open it.

See, the pink pleather thing was a makeup brush holder containing a pink-handled ponytail brush. It stank. A lot.

Now, there were two issues with this item from the beginning that should have ensured it never reached production phase, much less distribution to members.
-First was the issue of giving a very cheap, very flimsy eye brush to a group of consumers savvy enough about cosmetics to be interested in MyGlam in the first place. If 90% of MyGlam subscribers do not already have a comprehensive eye brush collection I will make a public apology and, I don't know, eat one of my own eye brushes, but I'm pretty comfortable with the probability of my made-up statistic. To wit: we are not a group to be impressed by a cheap brush.
-Second was the smell. MyGlam claims it was glue and that only a small number of bags/brushes were affected, but that's not what the comments from their Facebook page and various beauty blogs and forums suggest. My own bag and brush smelled so strongly of chemicals that they went straight into the trash. To wit: quality control needed to step in and stop production and/or shipment of these things before they damaged the brand's reputation.

This incident alone wouldn't have immediately prompted me to consider cancellation if it hadn't come directly on the heels of a fairly big dust-up over tubes for one product being re-labeled with a sticker for something completely different and shipped out with February's bag. The two products were made by the same parent company and the tube was for something that had been discontinued (and did appear to be filled with the product on the sticker label) but bad PR inevitably followed when MyGlam wasn't immediately forthcoming about the label issue.

All of which is to say that it's pretty clear that MyGlam's team isn't as consumer and customer service savvy as they'd like to believe. Like I said, if next month's bag isn't full of cosmetic samples that actually ipress me I'll be cancelling. Life is too short, and my sample drawer is too small to waste time, money, and space on stuff from an unreliable source.

Julep Maven:

I feel a bit disingenous including Julep Maven with Birchbox and MyGlam simply because I've only received one box from them so far. Still, I really love what I've received (two nail polishes and a hand scrub) and really, really love the fact that I can see what I'm getting ahead of time and opt out if I don't want it.

Julep is different from the other subscriptions in that they ship their own products only. No samples from other brands from what I can tell, just nail polish and related products from Julep's in-house line. I love nail polish, and I've been intrigued by Julep colors for awhile now, but the price point for each bottle ($14 for 0.27 oz) was steep. Twenty dollars for a box containing at least two bottles of polish seemed like a good deal, particularly when paired with a 1 cent first-time subscriber promotion. Sold!

So, the colors. I've only tried "Kelly" so far (a slightly shimmery cool-toned pearl white) but the formula seems solid if a bit runny. It doesn't chip easily, and is both attractive and worth roughly $10 if I split the cost of the box subscription between it and the other color I received, Emma. There was also a hand scrub, so call it $6.50/item and it's a very good deal.

When you sign up for Julep you also take a little "style quiz" which categorizes you into one of five boxes. On the 20th of each month you get an e-mail with the contents of the next month's box, and the option to switch for a different one, keep yours, or suspend your service for a month.

Love.

Choice. Birchbox and MyGlam offer variety, but no choice. Julep Maven offers little variety, but plenty of choices. Switching up the routine is nice, isn't it?

I'll do an actual good/bad/ugly review once I've gone through a few months of service, but I will say now that I am in love with Julep's shipping. I signed up last Wednesday, and my first box was at my door by Saturday. Hold me, Julep Maven, I'm yours!

In Summary:

I'm back, hopefully better than ever, and excited to keep writing about cosmetics I love! Hooray!

Lips I'm Loving

Two things:  first, apologies for the recent blogging hiatus!  It was one of those unintentional no-I-don't-feel-like-writing-today-let's-see-what's-on-TV weeks.  Second: I am absolutely in love with two new-to-me lipsticks and need to explain why they are awesome and deserve a place on your "to purchase" list.

First is Bobbi Brown's Treatment Lip Shine in Moonlight Rose.  This is a moisturizing product (containing, among other things, cocoa and shea butter) that also delivers a beautiful my-lips-but-better effect.  It comes in a surprisingly small, thin tube, which I love since it's easy to slip into a pocket or small purse.

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Initially I wasn't a huge fan of this lipstick.  There was a strange, faint smell after application I didn't care for, but I kept using it because the color was so, so gorgeous.  I later determined that the smell was probably from the shea butter (a scent I've never cared for) and after 10 or so uses it appears to have faded considerably.

So what made me a convert?  Well, the color helped.  Midnight Rose is a soft, dusky, rosy brown that perfectly compliments a neutral look.  I most often wear it with Tarte's Exposed blush and an eye from the Naked 1 palette.  Rather than being a boring neutral, though, Moonlight Rose has just a touch of shimmer, making it a more interesting and deeper shade than one would think on first glance.  It also does EXACTLY what it claims in the moisturizing department, and I absolutely love how soft and supple it makes my lips feel.  It does fade unevenly (not a huge problem since it's such a muted shade) after 3-4 hours of wear, which takes points away from its overall awesomeness, but the moisturizing effects last much longer than the color.

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The second lipstick I'm loving is Buxom's Big and Healthy Lip Tarnish in Scandal.  This is one of my rare in-store Sephora purchases, and was a total impulse buy.  I was actually planning to get a Benefit lipstick that day, but since the spring line hadn't arrived yet, I started to peruse the Buxom display.  This gloss/stain/plumper pencil caught my eye, and a swatch of the lovely color on my hand compelled me to plunk down my $18.  It was a good decision.

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Lip Tarnish is a sharpenable pencil (and includes a sharpener in the cap, which is a huge plus in my book since I never carry lone sharpeners in my travel makeup bag) that, like the Lip Shine above, does what it says it will.  It glides on fairly easily (there's not a lot of slip in the product, so expect a bit of tugging) and then stays there until the cows come home.  The "gloss" shine lasts at least 2-3 hours without feeling overly tacky.  Like all other Buxom lip products I've tried, this one plumps with a gentle tingling sensation that isn't uncomfortable in the way so many lip plumpers can be, and it leaves behind a very pleasant minty scent. As a color, Scandal is a warm mauve that pairs well with my pinkier blushes (Buxom's Hervanna in particular). 

A Word on Red Lipsticks

Taking my cue for Karen at The Makeup and Beauty Blog, I've been spending some time this week considering red lipsticks. Namely, why I don't own many of them. Now, it's not like I don't enjoy red--it's one of my favorite colors--or that I don't think I can pull off red lips--I know I can. Honestly, when I think of red lipstick I think of supreme confidence, and that's just not something I feel I have when it comes to my physical appearance.

This isn't to say that I don't like the way I look. I do. I'm never going to be show-stoppingly gorgeous, but I'm both old and wise enough to know that doesn't really matter. So where does this lack of red lipstick-level confidence come from? "Society" is too easy and flippant an answer, and it's also really not true.

I don't know that I have an answer to this question yet, but I'm going to keep pondering it. In the meantime, I'm going to make a point of buying and using more red lip colors--in this case, seeing may be believing.

NARS lipstick in Flamenco pictured.

Bobbi Brown's 20th Anniversary Palette--Twee is Putting it Lightly

I had been warned that the Bobbi Brown lip palette was disappointingly tiny, so I wasn't shocked when this box:

turned into this box;

before finally revealing the palette itself:

That said, WOW, it is tiny. Each pan is roughly the size of a pencil eraser, and the brush that comes with the palette is toothpick-sized. It's like an American Girl Doll accessory or something.

That said, as a sampler pack this isn't bad at all. I really like Bobbi Brown lipsticks, and a set like this is an opportunity to try a crapton of them. For $60 I'd have preferred more product, but since it was a gift I'm willing to overlook the gross pricing issues and focus on the lip colors themselves.

You'll forgive me if I don't swatch everything--I'm guessing there's fewer than 10 wears for each pan based on the amount of product in them.

The top pan is composed of mostly brown-based reds, pinks, and neutrals from Bobbi Brown's original launch line. The bottom pan contains a much brighter and bolder selection of links and corals that are current or new shades. A mirror separates the two pans when the palette is snapped shut.

So far I'm a fan of the colors in the palette with the caveat that it is an absolute ripoff given how tiny it is. I know a lot of fans and customers have been giving this set incredibly bad feedback based on size alone, and they're not wrong. We're used to getting a lot more bang for our buck when we buy a palette than Bobbi has offered here.

A word on packaging, and why it matters

Dear Makeup Companies of the World,

Hi there, how's it going?  Not much new with me, save that I've been doing a lot of experimenting with your products over the last year, and have come to some conclusions about packaging that I feel compelled to share with you.

Packaging matters.  Not only does an attractive compact or case attract a busy shopper's eye in a crowded display, but it affects the way we as consumers use your products.  Case in point, Benefit blush:

Benefit's packaging definitely stands out from the crowd on a store shelf--I don't think I've seen another brand using anything similar--but the way one has to hold the box and brush in order to use the product is less than lovely.  When one uses Sugarbomb, or one of your other multi-colored shades, it requires a not-insignificant amount of physical dexterity to sweep the brush evenly around the face of the pan in order to pick up an even amount of each shade.  It's awkward, and while I like the product enough to keep it in spite of this flaw, it will make me think twice about purchasing another blush from your line.

Moving on to a design that works, let's examine the Naked Palette, and Naked 2

*sigh*  Urban Decay, you rock so hard.  As much as I love Naked 1, Naked 2 has stolen my heart, at least in part due to the really solid packaging upgrade.  From a luxe (but easily dirtied) velvet box closed with hidden magnets to a solidly constructed metal casing that snaps closed tightly but isn't difficult to re-open, you've managed to make an already appealing shadow collection even more desirable.  What's more, you upgraded the mirror to run the full length of the palette, which is incredibly helpful on-the-go or while traveling.

There's no awkwardness about the Naked Palettes, and that's really saying something given how difficult-to-use certain other palettes are.  Say, for example,

the Tarte for True Blood palette.  It's lovely, sexy, and visually stunning.  Everything that compelled me to buy this palette in the first place still screams at me from my vanity every morning, but actually using the shadows is a lot less fun than it should be. 

For one thing, they're all crammed together to the point that cross-contamination happens even when a shadow has barely been touched.  Plus, due to the way the shadows are organized, you're not just contaminating one or two adjoining shades--there are 4+ other shadows touching each pan here!  Doubleplus, the organization of this palette makes it difficult to figure out which shades should pair up together.  Some connections are obvious, but others...not so much.

And then there's the product that is priced high, but whose packaging feels like something out of Rite Aid.  Not to knock drugstore cosmetics at all--there are wonderful drugstore products out there--but in terms of a compact's feel, there's typically a big difference between a Sephora-level product and a drugstore one.  Tarte's Amazonian Clay blushes don't seem to know this, though, because in spite of their steep $25 pricetag and amazing quality, the compact feels $3.99 in my hand.  It's cheap, flimsy plastic that I seriously doubt would do much to protect the pan if it was dropped (please correct me if I'm wrong here--I have no desire to test this theory on one of my own blushes) and is difficult to open to boot.  No $25 compact should require me to sacrifice intact nail polish just to open it up.

And yes, Bobbi Brown, I'm also looking at you here.  Your Party Palettes are ridiculously difficult to open.  I use them plenty, so it's not a matter of breaking in the closure--there's a design flaw here that needs examined.

My point being, packaging matters.  I know you know this, and I know that you probably run zillions of focus groups just to figure out what kind of packaging will appeal most to consumers.  The emphasis on curb appeal to new buyers has to be balanced with usability for those of us who've already purchased the product, though.  Because when push comes to shove, I'm not going to spend another $40+ on a Bobbi Brown shadow palette next season, especially when I don't use the ones I have as often as I might due to packaging issues.

In conclusion, PACKAGING.

Organizing the Stash

As all makeup junkies know, organizing a makeup stash is essential.  The alternative is to have eyeliners rolling around with lipglosses rolling around with a crappy tube of mascara you bought a decade ago and have been meaning to toss but can never find when you're thinking about it.

Not that I've been there or anything.

So because my husband is awesome, I'm fortunate enough to have the master bathroom all to myself.  I tell people that one of the secrets of my (thus far successful *knock on wood*) marriage is that we have always had separate bathrooms.  Ergo, space shouldn't be much of an issue, and yet it is.  My spouse, who believes that toiletries are items to be tolerated but not enjoyed (tough luck, buster, you're getting a nice shaving set and lip balm for Christmas!) shares a bathroom with our two small sons because together they need less counter space than I, the makeup-obsessed lone female in the family, do.

At least we all know where we stand vis a vis the bathroom situation.

So, on to my organization situation.  There are two rather spacious under-sink cabinets, which are mostly full of bulk toiletries from Costco and a variety of random crap that has slowly accumulated under there for the last six years.  Mostly I don't mind that this space is largely wasted.  It's inconvenient and uncomfortable to bend down there multiple times every morning, so I wouldn't want to store anything there that I'd need on a daily basis.  My one easily accessible bit of built-in storage is a long, shallow drawer between the double sinks, and for years it was good enough.  Granted, I did have those manky old tubes of lipgloss rolling around in the back, and it always took some digging to find my good mascara, but with a small stash of makeup I didn't feel the need to upgrade my storage.

Then I had a second baby, turned thirty, and started caring about cosmetics.  Check out the rest of the blog for the full backstory on all of this.

So my first step after realizing that my growing collection of cosmetics wasn't going to work with my organization-less system, I spent a few minutes browsing around the bathroom organization section of Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  No good.  All of the freestanding units had drawers that were way too deep for easy access to my products, and all of the in-drawer systems were too deep for my shallow drawer.  On my way out, though, I passed through the kitchen section and had an epiphany.  Silverware drawer organizers!

This one doesn't fit perfectly into my drawer, but the space it leaves on the right is narrow enough for me to be able to use it effectively.  One space for eyeliners, one for skincare, one for blushes, two for lipstick/gloss, one for single-color eyeshadows and miscellaneous eye products, and one for foundation and primer.

And yet, even with all that I was still running out of room.  Samples, extra products bought on sale (thankyouverymuch Black Friday), and larger products that had started to accumulate on my countertop but didn't get daily use all needed somewhere that wasn't the black hole of my cabinets.

It's not perfect, but Target had exactly the kind of shallow-drawered (not a word, but I don't care) storage I needed.  The downside here is that it's behind a closet door, and thus subject to neglect/forgetting about, but the upside is that my counter is much cleaner, and I have a drawer just for samples, so that when I run out of a product I know exactly where to look for sample alternatives before I buy again.

What are your makeup organization strategies?

Watt's Up, Benefit?

As I've been on a blush kick lately, I decided it was time to mix up my highlighter routine too.  I mentioned a couple of months ago how disappointed I've been with NARS Orgasm illuminator,  and even though I know they get great reviews I just can't get on board with the $$$ illuminating products from Chanel and Dior. 

I noticed Benefit's Watt's Up highlighter while I was browsing for a Benefit blush to try, but at $30 it seemed too pricey, especially for a first foray into a new-to-me brand.  Then came Ulta's 20% off holiday coupon.  I decided to give a tester a try, and was not disappointed.  The color blended beautifully (without the aid of the weird sponge thing on the opposite end of the illuminator stick) and provided a great champagne shimmer that didn't settle into the visible pores and fine lines of my hand while I shopped for the next hour. 

Sold!

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Isn't it pretty?  I've used it here with Sugarbomb...

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and here with Tarte Tipsy.  It compliments both shades very nicely, and has decent staying power.  I'd say I'm getting 6+ hours of wear from a very light application.

Overall I'm not sure Watt's Up is worth the $30 price tag Benefit has given it (and I'm glad I only paid $24 with my coupon) but it's a far sight better than NARS' illuminator at virtually the same price point. 

Benefit Sugarbomb--Is it THE Bomb?

God, Sephora, why do you hate my wallet?  First it's the Friends and Family sale, then the VIB sale, THEN $20 off a $50 purchase.  Really, it's like you think I'm capable of resisting slightly discounted cosmetics.  Which, by the way, I'm not.

Do not even talk to me about the 20% off coupon I received from Ulta yesterday.  

So I obviously had to buy something with my free money, and decided to give one of Benefit's much-lauded blushes a try.  Initially I wanted Dandelion, but after examining swatches on Temptalia's unparalleled swatch gallery, I realized that even on my very fair skin it would be too light.  So I decided to go with Sugarbomb.

Good choice, don't you think?

Sugarbomb is very, very subtle.  I seem to be doing a lot of subtle blushes lately (see Monday's review of Tarte's Exposed shade) and am liking the change-up from my usual NARS Orgasm/Tarte Natural Beauty routine.  I never thought I'd be a multiple blush kind of girl, but it's pleasant to have more options for both workdays and weekends.

In any case, on me Sugarbomb leans quite peach, though a pink-peach.  I'm not a huge fan of having to swirl my brush around the face of the pan to get even color distribution, but I can see why it might be nice to (at some point) be able to modify the color of the blush more or less pink/peach depending on my needs.

I didn't get quite 12 hours of wear time (my usual with Tarte and NARS) but since I don't see any specific wear time promises listed from Benefit I'm still calling this a win.  I definitely saw color 8+ hours after application, which is a full day for most people.  I did pair Sugarbomb with a highlighter on my cheeks (Benefit's Watt's Up, which I'll do a longer review of later this week) as I think the color improves when augmented with some additional pep.

Dior Nocturne Rouge Dior Lip Color--Divine Shimmer!

I'll be honest here, I wanted to love Nocturne more than I do.  It's a gorgeous shade and I'll wear it until the tube is empty, but...it's not what I was expecting.

Nocturne is a rich raspberry shade infused with gold shimmer.  Raspberry and I don't get along as a rule, mostly because I have a warm complexion and most raspberry shades I've encountered are cool-toned.  I also prefer red lip colors to pinks, which is what I hoped Nocturne would be.

And yet, the gold shimmer looks lovely.  I really like how Nocturne pairs with Tarte's Natural Beauty cheek stain, and especially how it looks when I'm wearing a shirt in a cooler color.  I think it really is one of those shades that flatters both warm and cool complexions when worn with the right coordinating shades.

Dior Vernis Nail Laquer in Apparat--AKA, Awesomesauce

From the minute I first saw swatches of Dior's limited edition Apparat nail polish I knew it had to be mine.  My nail polish collection has been growing exponentially lately, and Apparat is really the crowning jewel of my purchases from the last couple of months. 

Please ignore the couple of small chips here--this was taken after a day of holiday baking.

Apparat is a medium-dark, rich red with subtle golden shimmer that makes it glow on the nails.  It applies thick and smooth, and the applicator brush is amazing.  It's angled in a way that makes precise application incredibly easy, and is the best applicator I've ever used.  Chanel and OPI (both of which have applicators I love) have nothing on Dior.

Apparat is still easy to find online (I bought mine from Dillards.com) but may be scarce in stores.  I know the mall where I do my brick-and-mortar shopping was sold out of both Apparat and its sister lipstick shade (to be reviewed tomorrow) Nocturne.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed

As you may remember, I'm a big fan of Tarte.  I love their cheekstains, eyeshadows, and lip products.  I especially love that I have yet to encounter a dud product from them, which makes me far more likely to try new things from the brand sight unseen.  That said, Exposed is a shade that I purchased on a whim and probably wouldn't have looked at twice if it hasn't been for Temptalia's review a couple of weeks ago.

(an aside--my husband replaced all of the lighting in my bathroom this weekend, and I'm still trying to figure out the best angle for swatching.  Blog readership, meet my sink!)

Lovely, isn't it?  Very subtle, and perfect for a laze-around-the-house-no-I-shouldn't-be-wearing-makeup-but-I-am-because-it-makes-me-happy day.

In terms of wear time, I definitely get the full 12 hours advertised, which is pretty impressive for a powder blush.  I get at least 12 hours from Tarte's cheek stain too, for what it's worth.  I didn't pair Exposed with a highlighter here, and honestly I'm not sure it would look right with one.  Just as I wouldn't wear a glittery lipgloss over a my-lips-but-better lipstick,  I wouldn't pair my-cheeks-but-better Exposed with highlighter.

Regardless, I'd heartily recommend Exposed to pale-skinned, warm-complected ladies looking for a blush that won't make you look at all like you're wearing blush.  Check it out!

OPI for the Muppets--Warm and Fozzie

I love, love, love the Muppets collection.  Have I said that already?  Oh, wait, I have.  Well, it bears repeating.  Especially now that it looks like the Hunger Games polish line isn't going to happen, I really love that OPI did such a bang-up job with their Muppets-inspired looks.

Warm and Fozzie is a warm metallic brown polish heavy on multicolored micro glitter.  Mostly the glitter looks like the same pink/red in Designer de Better, but I've spotted green and blue in there as well.  The overall effect is a lovely dark copper, which would probably work better for the Fall, but I'm going to sport it pretty often in this Winter as well.  Because it is gorgeous.

Wear-wise I'm about as underwhelmed with OPI as I always am.  Even using Zoya Anchor and Seche Vite (thanks to the commenter who suggested I try it!) I'm still only getting three days of wear with chips after day one.  Applying three coats of polish helps, but for some colors that's just too heavy.  So...back to the drawing board.  As always, let me know if you have any suggestions!

Clinique Acne Solutions Spot Healing Gel Review

In spite of the progress I've made in the last year bringing my hormonal acne under control, I do still get a zit or two at various times of the month.  This month I was lucky enough to be visited by one at the bottom of my right nostril (awesome!) a site where the worst zit I've ever had appeared when I was 16.  That site is home to one of the few true acne scars I have, and is thus a place I approach with trepidation whenever I feel a blemish coming on.

Luckily I'd received my Sephora Mystery Bag the night before this zit appeared, and whipped out the Clinique Spot Healing Gel as soon as I stepped out of the shower that morning.  It took at least two days of regular applications (one at night and one in the morning) but the gel did the trick.  Since my experience with blemishes in this particular area is that they tend to stay inflamed and tender when left untreated, I feel safe in saying that the Clinique gel sped up healing time by at least 5-6 days total, and almost immediately eliminated the redness and swelling I'd been experiencing.

I'll spare you photos of my zit's transformation.  Trust me, you want to take my word for it.

That said, this gel is no joke.  a bit must have gotten into the crease between my nose and cheek, and the area has been peeling for almost 72 hours now. I definitely wouldn't use the Clinique gel on any zit that couldn't be taken care of easily with a quick drain or a milder spot treatment.

Overall I do plan to buy a full-sized tube once this sample runs out, though I expect that will take awhile.  Not only is my current skincare regimen working, the sample is generous and shouldn't need replacing for at least another couple of months.

Sephora Mystery Bag and the Big Black Friday Debacle

Did you stay up until midnight for Sephora's Black Friday Sale?  I'm almost embarrassed to say that I did, even though I didn't have to work the next day and thus could sleep in to make up for my very late night.  Ten dollar deals (specifically for Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara, which is my current favorite) were too good to pass up, so I made a trip to Starbucks late Thursday afternoon and had my laptop up and running at least half an hour before midnight EST.

Now, prior to the beginning of the sale there was a fair amount of confusion over when it was actually scheduled to begin.  The flyer Sephora had been sending out via snail and e-mail listed the end of the sale in Pacific Time, but only "midnight" for the start time.  Like many others (too many, as it would turn out) I figured that midnight Eastern made the most sense, so at 10:00 pm local time I started refreshing the Sephora home page.

Nothing.  No change.  No sale banner, no link to the page where we could purchase the items.  Nothing.

I then checked the Sephora Facebook page, where people were posting left and right that they'd been purchasing their $10 deals since 11:45 Eastern, a full 15 minutes before the advertised start time.  Thankfully someone posted a link to the hidden page where one could find the deals, and I quickly clicked over and added the items I wanted (LCL mascara and a Josie Maran blush) to my cart.  Just then, the site crashed.

To make a long story very short, Sephora's site stayed down for roughly two hours.  In that time so much gnashing of teeth and venting of spleen occurred on the Facebook page that you would have thought more than cheap makeup was at stake.  Mixed in with the righteous indignation of tired and cranky would-be Black Friday shoppers were periodic comments from people who wondered why anyone could get worked up about makeup when there were starving children in their communities (fair point, but a bit ironic on a makeup store's Facebook page where presumably people come to talk about makeup and not ending world hunger) and the periodic comment from someone clueless asking when the sale was supposed to start.

Conspicuously absent from the discussion for at least the first hour of the site crash was a representative from Sephora Corporate. 

Now, I'm not one to argue that corporations inherently owe their customers anything beyond a reasonable level of customer service.  Midnight on Thanksgiving is going above and beyond, in my opinion, EXCEPT when you have a major event scheduled to start at that time.  If you don't want to make your employees work during a holiday, don't begin a large sale/promotion during said holiday.  I don't think that Sephora owed customers anything more than an apology for the crash--after all, it was up to us whether or not we wanted to stay awake past our bedtimes to purchase items--but that apology and assurances that the IT staff were working to resolve the problem needed to come sooner given the scale of the sale's promotion. 

In any case, Sephora did start offering free shipping codes and (according to them) opened up the mystery grab bag promotion sooner than scheduled to appease angry and sleep-deprived beauty shoppers.  Seeing as how I'm a makeup whore, I snagged one on Saturday when I bought another few items.  Which brings us to:

It's black!  It's pretty big!  It's full of samples!  It's THE MYSTERY BAG!

List of samples I received:

• Clinique three-step skincare sample pack
• L'Occitane hand cream deluxe sample (score!)
• Clinique spot acne treatment deluxe sample (review of this coming up tomorrow--IT WORKS!)
• Murad skin system deluxe samples
• Dior skincare sample
• Shisedo Pureness sample set

Not too shabby, especially as a GWP of $25 or more.  Extended reviews of all items to come in the next few days.

Did you stay up for the Sephora Black Friday sale?  What did you think of the site outage or of any of the other well-publicized site outages around Black Friday and Cyber Monday (hello, LOFT, looking at you here)?

Stila Loves BP (and I love Stila) palette

I'm back!  Naturally all of my Black Friday/Cyber Monday/What the Hell I Like to Online Shop on Tuesdays Too purchases showed up the second I went on blog hiatus.  I'm still holding off on trying a few things until I know I can swatch and do a writeup on them, but I couldn't resist taking the new Stila palette for Nordstrom out for a spin.

Like all of Stila's travel palettes, this palette is very thin and small--it fits easily in my hand, and would easily slide into a small purse or medium-sized makeup bag.  It features four eyeshadows, one "bronzer," one blush, a "get the look" guide, and a small mirror.

Going clockwise from the top left the eyeshadow colors are: Clique, Bestie, Hipster, and Wink.  The "bronzer" (which is bizarre and totally not a bronzer shade) is Crush, and the blush is Flirt.

Swatches of the shadows:

Clique, Bestie, Wink, and Hipster (top to bottom)

As you can see, Clique is very, very pale pink.  So pale that it really doesn't show up as anything more than flesh-colored shimmer on my lids.  It's a decent base color for a very natural or sheer look, but not much good otherwise.  Bestie and Wink are my two favorites from this palette, and I'm very pleased with the quality of the shadows and the colors themselves.  I'm a sucker for a rich, dark pink, and that's exactly what both of these are.  Wink is quite glittery, but the glitter doesn't translate from the pan onto the brush, and I haven't noticed any fallout at all after several days of wearing it on my lids.  Bestie is a good warm neutral pink, and while I wouldn't buy singleton of this color it does look nice when paired with the other shades in the palette.  Hipster is your standard brown matte, and as you can see in the swatch above, is pretty sheer for such a dark chocolate brown.

On to the "bronzer" (I really can't get over this bright pink being labeled a bronzer--WTF, Stila?) and blush:

Yeah, nothing to write home about here.  The bronzer is clearly a joke (might be good as a blush on someone with a cool-toned complexion, but not on me at all) and the blush is really sheer. I stopped counting swipes with my swatching brush because it took so many just to build up enough color of either shade to get the incredibly light swatches you see above.  These are totally wasted pans, and very disappointing overall.

On the whole I really do like the shadows in the Stila Loves BP palette (and I absolutely think it's priced right at $14) I wish that the blush/bronzer combo wasn't such a waste of space and product. 

OPI for the Muppets--Designer de Better

OPI and the new Muppets movie seem like a match made in heaven.  The tie-in collection contains a dozen Hensen-inspired shades, and from what I can tell is selling like mad everywhere.  Between the appeal of Kermit and Co. and the truly lovely shades created by OPI, this collection appeals to pretty much everyone.

I went out in search of a few bottles yesterday, but only managed to score a pack of four half-sized bottles in Wocka Wocka (red), Excuse Moi (fuschia with pink micro glitter and multicolored large glitter), Warm and Fozzie (warm bronze with multicolored micro glitter), and Designer de Better (silver with pink micro glitter).  Gorgeous, each and every one!

I immediately slapped on Designer de Better, and (if you'll excuse my inexpert application) am totally in love with this shade.  It's a perfect warm silver, and the pink glitter is so subtle that I couldn't quite tell what it was until I'd worn it for a few hours.

If you're able to score a few of these while they're still available, DO IT.

Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer--Sephora Holiday Prep Kit Review Pt. II

I came into the Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer prepared to be wowed.  As a rule I like Stila products, and while I'm pretty happy with the Laura Mercier TM I'm currently using, I'm not averse to changing things up if I find something better.  Sadly, Stila's TM wasn't quite what I was looking for.

The below shot was taken after 15 seconds of  blending a pea-sized amount of product.  As you can see it blends into my skin tone well, but that's about it.

As far as illuminators go, this is an unimpressive product. It doesn't deliver nearly the punch of  Lancôme Touché Miracle (also included in the set), nor is it as long-lasting as the NARS illuminator in Orgasm that I wear with that blush.  For the most part the illuminating effect (created with what looks like a small amount of micro glitter in the formula) disappears within a couple of hours after application.

As a tinted moisturizer it did an acceptable job. I did need to touch up my t-zone with De-Sick powder twice as the day wore on, but I generally have to do that with most tinted moisturizers.

Overall the Stila is adequate, but just that. My primary issues with the product are that A: I don't want illuminator all over my face, just in specific areas (like on my cheekbones) I'd like to highlight; and B: as an illuminator this TM fails miserably.  I might have been willing to overlook this issue if the product had something else wonderful going for it, but it really doesn't. Zero mattifying, unremarkable SPF (20), and only mediocre illuminating qualities.

At $32 per full-sized tube this is one product that won't go beyond the sample size in my makeup drawer.

Fresh Sugar Lip Polish

As someone who has a longstanding love/hate relationship with dark lipsticks due to their tendency to feather, I was intrigued by the idea of lip polish/exfoliant. Would the Fresh Sugar Lip Polish help make my lips softer, smoother, and less prone to lip color irregularity? Well, sort of.

To begin with, the jar of lip polish included in the Lust gift set I purchased is tiny. Really tiny. I can't find size information for the $22 stand-alone polish, but the sample is 0.28 oz. Given that the lip balm and hand cream included in the set are full sized, this clearly seems to be where some product quantity skimping happened. It's a shame too, because I really like the lip polish, and I'd guess this sample will only last for a dozen or so applications.

To apply, you scoop a small amount of polish (which has the texture of wet brown sugar with maybe a little maple syrup added to it) onto your fingers and rub all over your lips. You're supposed to let it stay on for 5 minutes, but even after only two minutes my lips felt noticeably smoother, softer, and (surprisingly) moisturized.

When left on for the full 5 minutes the lips feel just as moisturized as they would after a liberal application of Fresh Sugar's amazing lip balm. The smoothness and softness I felt after a much shorter application aren't greatly enhanced by longer wear.

So does it work? Twelve hours after a two-minute application my lipstick feathered just as it would have sans exfoliant. Twelve hours after the five-minute application I found that a dark lipstick (Tarte's Moody) still feathered a bit around the purse of my bottom lip, but not as much as I'd normally expect.  Ultimately I'm far more impressed by the lip polish's moisturizing abilities than by its exfoliating prowess, though I doubt I'll purchase a full-sized tub at any point down the line. 

Fresh Sugar Brown Sugar Body Cream

Do you understand that there's sugar in this body cream?  Because aside from the name (SUGARRRR!) I actually wouldn't know that this contained anything other than lemon scent.

Right off the bat, do I think this moisturizer is worth the whopping $35 retail price? No. Lord no. Hell no. For that price I expect miracles, and while Brown Sugar Body Cream is fine for certain situations, it's far from a holy grail product.

Brown Sugar Body Cream is a thick, lemon-scented (think lemon mereingue pie-type lemon scent) lotion that feels lovely going on. It isn't greasy, it absorbs quickly, and my skin felt immediately softer after applying it. Within minutes, though, my hands felt uncomfortably dry again. I tried this cream again and again, hoping that I could explain the dry feeling away, but I couldn't. It's definitely the lotion.

My hands are prone to some dryness, and I like to stick with thick, heavy moisturizers such as Eucerin during the Fall and Winter months. I could buy a two-up year supply of Eucerin for what I'd pay for a single tube of Fresh Sugar Body Cream, and it would be money better spent. I'll keep this tube around for the summer or for when I don't need a lot of moisturizing action, but beyond that I won't be using this for much in the future.

Fresh Sugar Lip Balm is the BOMB

I recently had the opportunity to try out some Fresh Sugar products from the Lust gift set, and OMG they are amazing.  I'm probably the last person in the Northern Hemisphere to try Fresh Sugar, and now I know why it's so popular.  Let's take a look:

Included in the Lust gift set are a hand cream, a sugar lip exfoliator, and one of Fresh Sugar's famous lip balms.  This is the balm that retails for $22 a pop, which was frankly what piqued my curiosity about the brand in the first place.  Either the balm was ridiculously overpriced garbage that people were suckered into buying because of the "luxury" brand name, or it was the real deal and worth more than I typically pay for lipstick.

I'm pleased to say it is most definitely the latter.

Fresh Sugar lip balm is packaged in a heavy metal tube, clearly meant to withstand a beating in a purse or pocket.  It goes on smooth and creamy, and reminded me of nothing so much as Lansinoh lanolin in solid form.  It's instantly moisturizing, and the moisture sticks around for hours on end.  I first applied a thin coat at 1:00 pm this afternoon and am only now (at 6:30 pm) feeling the need to put some more on.  It's that long-lasting.

Given that the Lust gift set is priced at $28 and a stand-alone tube of balm is $22, the math here is simple.  Snap this holiday deal up before it's gone!