I want to know exactly where the Sephora brand manufactures their makeup products, specifically their press shadows as these act much more expensive than they cost! And they are bigger than a regular shadow. To give you an accurate scale, a NARS Blush clocks in at 4.8 grams and these are 3.2 grams, so not bad since there are 6 shades and the cost is $28 @ sephora.com.

SEPHORA COLLECTION Holographic Face & Cheek Palette contains the following:

• Three Transformers in Green, Blue, Pink.
• Three Matte Blush in Warm Rose, Purple, Pink.

Click the below link to see more pics and a look I created with it!

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Do you wear lip liner? I don't know many who do but I have to with some lip formulas so the color doesn't seep into my lip lines. Don’t you hate that?

This post the other day got me thinking about one of the products I always keep at the ready. It's a clear lip liner. I can't believe I haven't covered this fully before as I discovered these quite a few years ago and I can't even remember the brand that introduced me!

What I like about them is that I don't have to match my lip color to it since they have no color. I really only use colored liner, it’s only for when I'm wearing a red as that shade is not as forgiving and you want a perfect outline of the lips when wearing it, like with any of these.

Since I'm using these colorless ones as a barrier against bleeding, instead of lining lips around the very edge of the lip, I'm lining where my lip line ends and skin starts, so just around the lips themselves. 

So what are these made of? Housed as a pencil, most are mainly a soft wax with some silicones/mineral oil for slip. 

Here are some I recommend that span the price points:

MAYBELLINE Color Sensational Shaping Lip Liner in Clear ($7.99 @ walgreens.com, target.com)

URBAN DECAY 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Ozone ($20 @ sephora.com, ulta.com)

MAKE UP FOR EVER Lip Line Perfector ($20 @ sephora.com)

SEPHORA COLLECTION Beauty Amplifier Universal Lip Liner ($12 @ sephora.com)

ELF COSMETICS Lip Lock Pencil ($3 @ elfcosmetics.com)

MIRABELLA Perfecting Lip Definer ($20 @ dermstore.com)

Every woman should have at least 1 great red lipstick they turn to when they really want to turn it up. And right now is such a great time to find your perfect red as there are so many choices – tints, mattes, creams, liquids, metallics. So what’s your go-to?

Here are some of mine:

FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNA Lip Paint Longwear Fluid Lip Color in Unsensored - $24 @ sephora.com – the newest one to be added to my heavily-trafficked reds. This is a long-wearing liquid lipstick. It does transfer so be wicked careful you don’t transfer it unknowingly, which is always my problem! It’s worth it for the shade and pigment this one

SEPHORA COLLECTION #Lipstories Lipstick in #26 All Washed Up, matte, $8 @ sephora.com - this is one of their mattes from the new #Lipstories collection. I thought this would be a faint red but wow, was I wrong! The intensity is about 2 steps down from a liquid lipstick. Nice job SC!

MAYBELLINE Super Stay Matte Ink in #20 Pioneer - $7.99 @ target.com - one of my favorite all-time liquid lipstick products! If you're going to wear red, it's got to be precise and stay on through eating and drinking and this one does!

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Matte Lipstick in #403 Deep Red - $20 @ sephora.com - another liquid lipstick that is bold in pigment. This one is more on the orange side of the red family. 

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Mysterious Red - $27 @ narscosmetics.com, sephora.com - this is a good red if you're not up for the time commitment of a liquid lipstick and it works as a two-in-one lip liner and lip color. 

RIMMEL Stay Matte Liquid Lip Colour in Fire Starter - $5.49 @ walgreens.com - these liquid lipsticks from Rimmel are becoming a top pick from me. All the factors are covered - the color intensity, the way they wear, and the length of time I get out of them and of course, how comfortable they are. Big recommendation!

The SEPHORA COLLECTION just released a new collection of lipsticks today called #lipstories and each is only $8!

What it is: 40 lipsticks in 3 different finishes – cream, matte and metal. There are 10 different collections of 4 lipsticks and each tells a story and celebrates a wild adventure or a magical memory on the cap.

First Up …

#Hashtag Throwback

Some days, don’t you just wish you could go back and be a kid again? *raises hand* Dive into that nostalgia with snaps that feel like your own personal #tbt

Shades:

• #35 Take a bite
• #29 Malt shake
• #22 A little magic
• #41 Take a spin

Each of the tubes is a full size 4g, made in Italy and the cap is made of cardboard. One thing is, if I open a few at a time and the caps get mixed up, there is no indication of which cap goes with which base. It would have been helpful to have the number of the shade on the base too. A small detail but a detail none-the-less. They are available for purchase through the app and on sephora.com. In stores December 26. 

I’m looking forward to trying more of these out! Are these something you think you will pick up?

L to R: Take a bite (#matte, coral red), Malt shake (#cream, burgundy brown), A little magic (#matte, red), Take a spin (#metal, champagne).

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

My first ever micellar water was Bioderma Solution Micellar and it achieved cult status rather quickly and it seems like it was some time before another one came along like this one and this one. So what exactly is micellar water and why should I care? It's tiny balls of cleansing molecules called micelles suspended in soft water. It won't dry or strip the skin and they clean beautifully. Now they won't remove waterproof mascara but they do a nice job otherwise. 

Here are some I recommend from L to R:

EMBRYOLISSE Micellar Lotion $26/8.5oz @ target.com

YES TO Cucumber Micellar Water $8.99/7.77oz @ ulta.com, walgreens.com

L'OREAL Micellar Cleansing Water $9.99/13.5oz @ target.com, ulta.com

SEPHORA Triple Action Cleansing Water - $12/6.76oz @ sephora.com

And it also comes in wipes now with SIMPLE Kind to Skin Micellar Makeup Remover Wipes $5.99/25 wipes @ target.com, and a super remove-it-all-even-liquid-lipstick VICHY Micellar Oil $18/4.2oz @ dermstore.com, target.com

Makeup tools make an excellent gift for a few reasons:

• You get a lot of bang for your buck around the holidays.
• Most people will buy them for themselves.
• Beauty lovers always need them!

Here are 4 that will make you look like a star gift giver:

1. REAL TECHNIQUES Multitask Set ($19.99 @ realtechniques.com, target.com, walgreens.com) – contains a face brush, cheek brush and eye brush all tucked in a Velcro case.

2. MAC Nutcracker Sweet Essential Brush Kit ($35 @ maccosmetics.com, nordstrom.com) – contains a face blender brush, eye blending brush and small angle brush nestled in a cute carrying pouch.

3. CHELLA Beautiful Eyebrow Tools ($45 @ dermstore.com) – contains tweezers, razor with brush and comb and scissors in a snap case.

4. SEPHORA Glitter Happy Brush Set ($59 @ sephora.com) – how cool is this glittery stand this comes with? Essentials include a blush brush, powder brush, crease brush, concealer brush, allover shadow brush, lip brush and the acrylic stand.

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

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I think I’ve been around the liquid lipstick block a few times now and with the latest ones I’ve tried being on the indie side, I have some more observations. It seems that just about every brand is coming out with their own version these days, which is great, but not so great when you kinda know what formula works for you, and you don’t get it when you open the tube. If you’re on the liquid lipstick (will abbreviate to LL) bandwagon, do you know which form you like best? I think I do, now that I’ve tried quite a few different brands:

Chanel, Wet N Wild, Tarte, Buxom (part of BareMinerals), ColourPop, Motives, Cailyn Cosmetics, L’Oreal, Make Up For Ever, Stila, Laura Mercier, Merle Norman, NARS, Lime Crime, Ofra Cosmetics, Fyinnae, Maybelline, Ciate London, L'Oreal, Napoleon Perdis, Houglass Cosmetics, CoverGirl, LipSense by SeneGence, Giorgio Armani, Sephora, Kat Von D, MAC, Makeup Monster, LA Splash Cosmetics, Caked, Beauty Bakerie.

Brands on my list to try: The new ones from Smashbox, Anastasia Beverly Hills (I know, I know, I'm like the only one on the planet but I've read mixed reviews), Jeffree Star, Milani (drugstores are always out of the Amore Mattes!), Lonely Planet.

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I attended The Makeup Show in Los Angeles a few weeks ago and picked up some products I’m uber excited to try out! Some I had not seen before and some I had on my list to pick up.

Since it’s tax season, I had to really be watchful on my dollars this time around and thankfully the show had a blogger preview so some of the products that were on my list were in the bag the show gave us. Yeah!! I've just started trying some of them out so do you see anything you like?

1. ESUM Pro Finishing Sponges ($20/2 sponges @ musebeauty.com) – here’s a new twist on the makeup sponge – these combines the wedge and oval sponge in one so you can get every inch you’re trying to get to.

2. BÉSAME COSMETICS Boudoir Short Hair Contour Brush ($48 @ sephora.com) – this one is in the same category as those oval brushes that are blowing up everywhere. It feels so nice on the skin and is able to get into all the angles on the face … flawlessly!

3. SENNA COSMETICS Lash Detail Mascara ($20 @ sennacosmetics.com) – I’m really picky about my mascara and don’t like many. I’ve worn this one twice and what I like about it is the super skinny fine brush that seems to be able to maneuver color on ever lash. If you’re looking for natural looking lashes, this might be one to try.

4. NYX COSMETICS Soft Matte Lip Crème in Transylvania ($5.99 @ bedbathandbeyond.com) – I’ve been needing this shade in my life since it came out and has been sold out at my Ulta since it came out.

5. SEPHORA PRO Press Full Coverage Complexion Brush #66 ($36 @ sephora.com) – this seems to be Sephora’s answer to the oval brush craze and I can’t wait to see how it performs!

6. SMASHBOX Photo Finish Primer Water ($32/3.9oz @ smashbox.com and sephora.com) – there’s been quite a buzz on this primer water since it emerged recently. Can’t wait to try this out!

7. VERA MONA Color Switch Duo ($19.99 @ veramona.com) – a genius product! Stroke your brush against the black to remove the color so it’s ready to dip into the next shade. And the white middle part can be soaked in water if you feel like applying shadow with a wet brush.

8. KAT VON D Tattoo Liner in Trooper ($19 @ sephora.com) – from the queen of liner. Need I say more?

9. PUR Browder Perfecting Brow Powder in Medium Brown ($22 @ kohls.com) – this combines a powder with fibers to help fill in sparse areas. Interesting application pointer!

10. MAKE UP FOR EVER Pro Sculpting Lip 2-in-1 Lip Sculpting Pen in #40 Carmine Red ($27 @ sephora.com) – quite a unique twist on giving lips a multi-dimensional look. Can’t wait to try this out!

Still stumped on what to gift your bestie? Or yourself? Here are some more suggestions.

VOTIVO Boxed Glass Soy Wax Candle in Red Currant ($28/6.8oz=60 hr burn time @ dermstore.com) – I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love this Red Currant scent. And a quality candle is always a great gift to yourself or someone else.

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Sometimes I use the holidays to give a beauty gift of luxury; something I just don’t see that person buying for themselves necessarily. Here are 5 that will dazzle and delight!

1. TOO FACED Mr. Right Perfect Powder Brush ($36 @ sephora.com) – never underestimate the power of a quality makeup brush! It just feels so nice to sweep one across the skin, right?

2. BARE MINERALS ‘Precious Gems’ Lip Oil Balm Trio ($26 @ macys.com) – these are some of my favorite tinted balms and I always keep one tucked in my purse. Each has a hint of color you can actually see (hate when one promises tint and there is none!).

3. SEPHORA COLLECTION Ombré Obsession Eyeshadow Palette ($25 @ sephora.com) – OMG, how great is this palette?? I’d say it falls into the Product As Art category for sure. And what a great value at $25 (they claim it’s worth $175!). I can’t put enough exclamation points in this blurb about it!

4. HOURGLASS Nº 28 Lip Treatment Oil in Icon ($42 @ nordstrom.com) - lips are always center stage so you’ve got to keep them looking great in these cold temps. And this one has a dash of color in it.

5. ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS Contour Cream Kit $40 @ ulta.com, sephora.com) – I know I’ve tried using bronzers, eye shadows and other dark shades to contour with. Pick her up the right products to use for it, ok?

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

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