Haul in the past couple of months :D +

Videos!

Skincare:


Makeup! :D

Let me know if you prefer more videos or primarily sticking to just writing. I know for sure I want to do a video once I have my organization set up. 

Items in my current rotation +

Since I've been on a hiatus, I need to make up for lost time (oops). 

Okay, so items I have been using often are as follows -- FYI I got the RBR compact as a gift from Sethakins. It's not a sponsored post, nor am I getting paid to post it. 

Armani Precision Retouch Concealer: Now that the weather is getting warmer, it's time to lay off on the heavier texture face items...at least my skin prefers thinner formulas come the warmer months. This stuff is seriously high coverage, with an amazing thin brush to get in the under eye areas, as well as point conceal targeted areas. I'm shade 3.

Kilian Extreme Oud: you can read my a couple of posts down. It's so sensual...and delicious. :)

Addiction Damask Rose: It's time for me to break out the brighter pinks, and the easiest way for me to break into those shades is always with a nice bright blush. Not to mention the balmy texture and ease of application. :) 

Hourglass Vintage Lipstick: This one was hiding in my stash for a while. I had purchased it at a Sephora where Josh Collier (MUA) was working at. He showed me the newest lipstick shades, and picked out this color. Totally forgot I had it, until I was settling into the new place and saw it. It's such a gorgeous warm pink brown. 

Chantecaille Just Skin Foundation: Chantecaille is one of those lines that doesn't have an exact match for me in their foundations. I made Future Skin work as best as I could, but over time I found better matches and eventually stopped using it. It made me sad that I couldn't use their Future Skin, but I was determined to have a foundation from their line. Luckily their Just Skin shade in Glow is a semi close match, and it's forcing me to use lighter coverage foundations. I like it so far, but we'll see if it's an item I'll repurchase.

You know Guerlain is another line that I don't have a match in? And they too make nice foundations. 

By Terry Hyaluronic Sheer Rouge in #9 Dare to Bare: It's a lipcolor that makes a statement in of itself, a pink with some mauve in it. It darkens my lipcolor, while providing a soft sheen. It's my favorite shade from the new Sheer Rouge line. 

By Terry Laque de Rose in #8: I'm running out of this shade, and I think I have backup somewhere. It pains my little soul that this shade is forever gone. It's that gloss that I use after a lipstick fades because it's just so easy to apply, not to mention just beautiful.

Skinceuticals Sport UV Defense SPF 45: With the sun being out more, and yours truly being sensitive to the sun, I have to use a higher SPF sunscreen. I've bought several of these, and have yet to find something better that works for my skintype. It's a thick cream that blends quickly, doesn't leave a white cast and it wears like iron. You can see in the photo how much I love this sunscreen.

Rouge Bunny Rouge mirror compact: I got this as a present from Sethakins himself, and little did he know I had a worn down mirror that I used since middle school. LOL I refuse to post a picture of the old mirror. I'm glad I have something more polished and functional. Thank you for the awesome present. 

:)

Rouge Bunny Rouge Time Defying Foundation +

Hi and I'm back ! :D

FYI: The review on the product I received as a gift from a friend. It's not a sponsored post, nor did I purchase it (although I was planning to). 

I've been busy settling into my new apartment. It's still a barren place (still almost no furniture), but all of my stuff is in the current residence. The downside is that all of my makeup is in bags/boxes. I threw out my old organizational scheme, since I want something that looks more like furniture, than plastic bins. I think I know what I want to get, but it will have to wait until I get it with a coffee table. 

During my little hiatus, as some of you may know, I met Sethakins7 in his area. I consider myself one of his newer fans of his channel and we have always discussed meeting up at some point. It actually happened on St. Patricks Day weekend. He had asked me what I had thought of my samples of the Time Defying foundation, and as much as I loved it, I had to put off on buying it since I was afraid it would be lost in transit since I was moving. Not to mention I was spending a lot of money on my new place. 

To those who are wondering, I have curbed down on my makeup spending by a lot. Even after I get all of my new furniture, I just need to slow my roll. 

So back to the sex machine that is Seth, it was a wonderful time :). It's funny because I had a present from him, which I wasn't expecting. Maybe because I just considered our meet something casual. 

One of my awesome gifts was a full sized bottle of the Time Defying Foundation!! :D :D Since we are similar in skin tone, he knew my shade. 

Now that I've been wearing this foundation for a couple of weeks, I do have some thoughts. 

Packaging: It's in the standard Rouge Bunny Rouge packaging. To those of you who don't own any liquid RBR products, they seriously take the cake when it comes to luxury packaging. The pump is easy to use, although I'm sure there are some people who don't like glass bottles since it's not travel friendly, I love them since you can sit them on a vanity. 

Formula: It's definitely a medium coverage foundation. I do think the name and the skintype it's supposed to be designated for (mature skin) is a bit misleading. Maybe it's my assumption that with mature skin, that the foundation would be luminous in finish. So before I had my hands on it, I was imagining the foundation being something more along the lines of Bobbi Brown Luminous Foundation or a luminous version of Laura Mercier Silk Creme. 

When I actually applied it, I was like "oh". It's a velvet finish, which I actually prefer, but not the finish I had imagined. I've read reviews that it looks cakey, which I don't agree with. I do think it's a foundation that you have to take your time in blending, because it does set pretty quickly. If you don't blend well, you can see the lines of foundation demarcation (even if the foundation is an exact match) since it's a slightly thicker foundation formula. Just because a foundation is slightly thicker, does not mean it's cakey. I've seen thinner formulations of foundation look cakey. It doesn't look like a mask, it covers pores and redness really well, and it looks like your skin, but better. I can't speak how well it applies when the person has wrinkles.  

If the Time Defying Foundation coverage is too high, it's relatively easy to sheer out with a moisturizer. With this foundation I do like to prep my skin with a thicker moisturizer since it helps me apply the foundation with a thin layer for a more "slap and go" application for my everyday rushed routine. 

The biggest win when it comes to this foundation is that it's far longer lasting than Milk Aquarelle. I'm curious to see how this fares over the summer when the temperatures are over 100 degrees. Over a span of 8 hours, the foundation wears into a very slightly satin finish, which I enjoy, with ever so slight fading. 

Price and Size: 48.50 Euros, for 1.01 oz or 30mL

onto the photos to see how it compares to my other foundations:

Left to Right from most luminous to least: 

1. Ellis Faas Skin Veil 103. This doesn't look as pink (it's actually more peach in real life) when blended on the skin. 

2. Rouge Bunny Rouge  Milk Aquarelle in Chestnut

3. Rouge Bunny Rouge Time Defying Foundation in Wheat

4. By Terry Cover Expert in #8 (again, not as pink when blended).

click to enlarge

I got tagged :)

Which book has made the most profound impact on your life?

The Stranger by Albert Camus. I read it in high school and it basically determined the outcome when it comes to my relationship with my mom. I even have a tattoo of Mersault on my back.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I actually enjoy New York City. If I could live anywhere else, London or Barcelona (but not forever). I've visited Barcelona and it's so visually beautiful and the nightlife lured me in :) London because it's a city, plus all the things I love makeup wise are more easily accessible there. 

What is your favorite movie of all time ?

I don't think I have one. :| I barely watch movies.

Name 3 makeup brushes you cannot live without .

Shu Natural 10, Suqqu L, Chikuhodo Z8

What is your dream job ?

Marketing or PR in the beauty industry, I think. 

Who is your biggest makeup inspiration ?

Aesthetic wise, Monica Bellucci. Her makeup is always so perfect, effortless, with some drama. Makeup artist wise: Terry de Gunzberg. I love her vision of colors -- part of me thinks she has me in mind when she makes collections, because they're the most flattering. (ha ha).

Name your favorite red lipstick of all time.

Shu RD 190 (discontinued). As for current: Le Metier de Beaute In the Know Bordeaux lip creme. I reach for this really often.

If you could make one limited edition product permanent, which one would it be  ?

The Giorgio Armani limited edition eye pencils. Those things are amazing. 

What is your signature scent ?

Le Labo Gaiac 10. I think this will change soon.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years ?

I have no idea. I would like to be married and have a better job, so I can own a house. That's all I can really think of at the moment.

What fulfills you ? 

Seeing my friends happy.

by the way, I'll be a bit MIA since I'm going through a transition at this moment in time. I'll update about it once it's all over. :)  

whoever would like to answer these, that would be fun :D or if you have any questions for me, feel free to ask.

Dolce and Gabbana Luminous Cheek Color Swatches +

I've gotten a lot of questions about the Dolce and Gabbana blush shades, so basically I arrived at Saks today on a mission: swatching some blushes. 

The best lighting I could do of the physical swatches is outside, with flash. It's a cold, cloudy day. 19 degree weather to be exact. I had to be in a tank top outside of Saks. Yea, you get the idea. The things I do for this blog. :)

I hope these are helpful.

top to bottom: nude, sole, peach, tan, caramel, apricot, mocha, and rose

top to bottom: rosebud, delight, muave diamond, provocative, and warm 

The biggest surprise in terms of color: Apricot. It's not even pretty in the pan, but whoa what a GORGEOUS shade. 

A Special Thank You to Rouge Bunny Rouge

A little backstory...

I'm no stranger to the Rouge Bunny Rouge line, I do love their products, but of course I'm a person who tends to go through phases when it comes to makeup. For a while, I'll be into Suqqu or say, By Terry. Then I'll change to something like Dolce and Gabbana, and so on. They're all great brands, but I'm just a creature of phases I guess. 

I was curious about their new Skin Sanctuary Foundation and asked what shade would be my match. I was told a couple of different answers, and given someone like myself who buys RBR sight unseen...I wanted to make sure I had the right shade. Long story short, I asked for a sample of two shades that seemed like my coloring. 

I'm not one who asks for free things, a big reason is I feel awkward in asking. I'm not a big blogger (as in having a big audience), compared to a few others. Who am I to ask for free things? 

I get a package...honestly I was only expecting two foundation samples. 

This arrived instead:

um...

courtesy of http://memegenerator.net

I just wanted to say thank you to the Rouge Bunny Rouge team for sending me these items!

I've figured out my shade, which is Wheat Cream. I can give you some preliminary thoughts on this foundation:

texture: It's a thicker gel cream compared to Milk Aquarelle, and it's a medium to full coverage foundation. The viscosity is higher in Skin Sanctuary than Chantecaille Future Skin. It's definitely a velvet-matte finish. The finish is slightly less matte than my beloved By Terry Lumiere Veloutee, but the coverage is very similar. 

A couple of things to keep in mind when it comes to Skin Sanctuary is that if you have dry/flaky skin, I do suggest wearing a thick moisturizer if you desire a more luminous finish, or to help with the flaky spots. I also think that you have to blend the foundation, because even though it's a natural finish, when you're wearing a higher coverage foundation, I do recommend blending it a bit past the jawline so it's a seamless finish.

longevity: I wore it yesterday and it lasted me 8 hours with no primer. Granted I didn't take it out for a full test run, I do think it's a pretty stellar when it comes to longevity.

The biggest advantage it has over Milk Aquarelle is that there's minimal to no transfer at all. Milk Aquarelle has a bit of transfer, which isn't a dealbreaker, but the biggest con to Milk Aquarelle is that it didn't last an entire day, unless you wore a primer. Skin Sanctuary is definitely a winner so far. I'm really enjoying it and am seriously considering buying the full size. 

Thank you again, RBR. You're definitely the gold platinum standard when it comes to customer service and communication. I've already been a fan of your line, now I'm a lover. <3 You've seriously made my week. 

Random Post +

Hi everyone!

I hope things are going well for everyone now that January is seemingly coming to a quick close...

My end makeup-wise, nothing much is happening, so you may not see many posts. Reason being a lot of the new items that are being released aren't that interesting (to me). Spring and Summer collections are the ones that I buy the least from, since I tend to favor dark, deeper colors. 

For those of you who are like me and don't tend to buy stuff from Spring/Summer collections, this would be a good time to either buy items you normally don't buy...such as makeup brushes, lashes, blushes you never had the opportunity of getting.

What I have been watching are a lot of youtube videos :D

Faves of the moment:

I've been reading more CafeMakeup and her blog has been inspiring me to think about having more variety when it comes to posts. Instead of just reviews, just writing about things that I like in general. A good example is her Taupe Blush post.

I recently have spoken to IcegirlVentura on twitter, and OMG WHERE HAS SHE BEEN ALL MY LIFE !?!?!? Granted some of you may not speak/read spanish, her videos are so fun to watch. Or, you can see what she has to say on her blog here.

I've been watching brush videos (not surprising), but at the same time, I'm not really in the market to buy a lot of brushes at the moment. Odd, I know.

Then there's my future wife, er, friend Karima with her lovely Rouge Bunny Rouge tutorial.

Then we have MakeupMLC giving her first impressions of her newest Suqqu brush pretties:

Then there's always my fellow luxury makeupjunkie friend Debbick1 with her first Haul of 2013 :D

and my small haul:

A backup of Suqqu #4

Suqqu Cheek Brush (I know some of you may be surprised I didn't have this before). It's a brush I've avoided buying since I already have Chikuhodo Z4, but it was only a matter of time that I was curious enough to see how this brush compares.

Suqqu eyeliner brush

Suqqu loose powder

:)

Burberry Hydrangea Pink vs. Tom Ford Narcissist blush

Hi all!

I wanted to make a quick post before I head on over to the doctor's office. Basically there are people who are wondering how the two blushes compare in terms of color and formula.

Amount of product you get:

Burberry: 7 grams 
Tom Ford: 8 grams

The biggest difference is the texture. Tom Ford's is drier and not as easy to apply compared to Burberry Hydrangea Pink. HP is smoother, creamier to the touch, hence the nicer texture, and easier to apply. 

I will say I do prefer Narcissist color wise -- it's slightly more vibrant and a cooler based pink. 

Basically for those who missed out on Narcissist, Hydrangea Pink is a nice alternative and it's a bit cheaper. 

Onto the photos:

Burberry Hydrangea Pink on the left, Tom Ford Narcissist on the right

Burberry Hydrangea Pink on the left, Tom Ford Narcissist on the right

Dolce and Gabbana Contrasts Palette +

And so it continues with my reviews on Dolce and Gabbana makeup ...

My favorite eyeshadow palette thus far has to be Contrasts, I don't know if it's because it also happens to be my first palette from the line. Anyway ... 

Packaging: It's gold with Dolce and Gabbana lasered on the center. As I've stated my issues with the packaging in other reviews, it scratches really quickly and easily. It's a bit annoying since scratches easily ruin the look of the casing. 

Texture/Formula: Contrasts is definitely less powdery than Desert. They blend easily and has as nice buttery consistency, although not as buttery as Burberry single eyeshadows. They feel nicer than Tom Ford eyeshadows since TF's are dry in comparison. All of the colors in Contrasts are pretty consistent when it comes to the texture. I can't say the same for some of the other Dolce palettes though (as they are a hit or miss). 

What makes this palette a win for me -- one of the shades is a plummy brown, which tends to be a hard color for me to wear. When combined with the other shades it's totally easy for me to wear. I like the overall effect and look of the palette, since it compliments my skintone really well. I will say the color's aren't specifically unique, but the colors are nice to have in your bag for a fool-proof look.

Price and Size: $59 for 4.8g or 0.16 oz. 

daylight, cloudy lighting

I'm back :) Dolce and Gabbana Passion Duo Gloss Fusion Lipstick Swatches +

Happy late holidays everyone! Lots of things happened in my life: busy working, a new pet, being home for the holidays...lots of traveling and no time for myself. 

I know there were a lot of people wondering about what I think of Dolce and Gabbana, which is the main reason why I came back for this post. 

Just be prepared...main reason is that Dustin now works for the line, which means I can actually swatch all the things, which is a 180 degree from previous experiences. As in, I will really get the time to play and see what I like from the line, rather than rushed swatches, or just seeing the limited line from Sephora. 

One of the few items I've gotten to really use over the holiday season are the Passion Duo Gloss Fusion Lipstick formula. Info from the Saks website: 

A collision of rich cream color and satin gloss in a thrilling encounter of impeccable contrast, in a way that no one else has done before. Resplendent with contrasting texture, it offers a layer of rich, creamy lip color elevated by a playful burst of gloss. Luxuriant cream bullet and smooth gloss prove the ultimate partners in crime; a collision of two powerful forces in an explosion of vibrancy and excellence. 

Packaging: gold, slim packaging. Very luxe in appearance, but the major downside to them is that they do scratch easily. Basically the same issue I have with By Terry lipstick packaging. 

Formula: The formula is something special. It has the slip of a gloss, the hydration of a balm, the opacity and creamy aspect of a lipstick. The closest formula I can think of are the Chantecaille lipchics, but they have a less balmy and waxy feel in comparison. Plus the opacity is significantly less in a lip chic. Plus the Gloss Fusions have longer lasting power. I'm really liking them, a LOT. The center of the lipstick tube it's like a lip balm kind of core. It has some shimmer too, but depending on the lipstick color, the shimmer is more apparent than other shades. It's not a chunky glitter, but a soft shimmer. 

The downside is that I wish they had more flattering shades for me. They have a decent selection of colors, but very few I find flattering on myself. 

As for lasting power: about 4 hours where I start to see some fading. That's okay, they're so easy (fool proof) to re-apply because of the glossy formula.

Price and Size: $34 for 3.0 grams, or 0.10 oz

ingredients and the such: 

 

L to R: Delight, Impact, Rose

L to R: Delight, Impact, Rose

L to R: Delight, Impact, Rose