Tarte Smooth Operator Tinted Moisterizer

I simply cannot say enough about Tarte. There just are no words. See, for me writing about this company is almost within the same lines as writing a love letter, because I am head over heels in love with every single one of their products I have used. That's saying a lot because about 1/4 of my stash of makeup is from Tarte, and I have tried and owned products from just about any company you can imagine and not because I'm a snob or rich.... No, it's a love affair turned career path. Skincare products and makeup are my business, and having gone to school for it and making it my life like I said before, it's simply my business. It's not work to me because I'm doing what I love. Now with that clarified and out of the way, as long as Maureen Kelly the founder of the company keeps coming up with products that are sheer genius, I will continue to be a loyal patron till I breathe my last breath. Every single product is not only gorgeous but also good for your skin. Their face primer is anti-aging with an anti-aging foundation to go along with it. The illuminating serum along with a major slew of products contains perhaps one of nature's most amazing ingredients.....amazonian clay. Amazonian clay is also a main ingredient in the tinted moisturizer. I consider the tinted moisturizer to be more of a foundation for light to medium coverage because the coverage is simply that good while being completely lightweight on the skin and good for it. To top it all it contains an SPF of 20. What's not to happy dance about that? All the while being oil free and jam packed with a butt-load of extracts and vitamins that do wonders for the skin all while making it pretty. Could a company create anything lovelier? Fair skinned as I am I can swing between agent 02 and agent 06 because I do have yellow undertones due to being 1/2 Asian. Sound good to you yet? If so simply follow this link http://tartecosmetics.com/tarte-item-smooth-operator-tinted-moisturizer you my darlings will  not be let down, go on....I dare you. If you need or demand more coverage, Tarte also makes a divine 12 hour full coverage amazonian clay foundation which when applied with this awesome bamboo handle brush they have makes it look as though it were airbrushed on without all the clunky machinery. I trust my facial skin only to tarte first and foremost, as well as Chanel, and Dior. C'mon, as though you couldn't tell I do like to spoil myself when I'm able to hehe ;) I could enclose pictures of this snazzy little gem but then again, just head over to the site and you will see that with this product the beauty lies within as well. Along with the fact that there is me acting as walking advertisement I'm wearing smooth operator tinted moisturizer in every picture except for reviews on Chanel from last year. Blissfully happy to say this stuff leaves my skin looking better and better each time I remove it. XOXO 

Lorac Unzipped Eyeshadow Palette

As I posted in my last blog, nudes are the hottest thing in makeup right now. Seems they have been since Urban Decay released their Nude palette last year. The Darlings at Lorac did a smashing job with their takes on nudes in the Unzipped palette. This baby has 10 gorgeous shades and comes with a travel sized tube of Behind the Scenes Eye Primer. The texture of each shadow is buttery and silky with barely any fallout and is a mix of sophisticated shimmers meaning no giltterball face, and beautiful mattes. Though there is no application guide to create certain looks that comes with Unzipped which seemingly comes with every palette nowadays, this palette is pretty much a no-brainer as each shade complements the other. If you like what you see, it's a Sephora exclusive so head over to sephora.com and grab this baby which is valued at $200.00 for only $40.00. So enough gum flapping out of me and I'll let the pictures do the talking keeping this post short and sweet. Enjoy my darlings! Xoxo

Colors from top to bottom: Undercover, Unbelievable, Unattainable, Unconditional, Unbridled, Undiscovered, Unreal, Uncensored, Unspoken, Untamed.

Just one look I created

No shadow fallout whatsoever! 

Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV

Urban Decay's fourth installment of the Book of Shadows. The colors in this year's release are somewhat subdued compared to last year's almost complementing the nude craze that makeup has undergone, even reaching the stretches of Bobbi Brown's spring lines. I enclosed a picture of this year's palette in comparison to last year's palette and it says it all. Last year's colors were a lot more varied and vibrant. Not to say that this year's colors aren't, they're just more practical. I mean how many of you are going to rock sparkling hot pink shadow to work.......for some of you, on the weekends, or ever even? Anyhow, I haven't taken any pictures yet of myself in them, but I have swatched them for you. There are 10 new colors in the B.O.S IV, of course repeats however, they're of colors I use often so I really didn't mind all too much. The extra's in this year's palette were great as well, a 24/7 waterproof liquid liner in Perversion (black), a travel size primer potion in the newer squeeze tube, and a travel size supercurl curling mascara. This year also gets technical on your bootie by including a tiny speaker and cables to connect to your phone to scan a tutorial card for examples of different looks that can be achieved. There is monochrome, smoke out, crystallized, purple cat, and naked. If it's a complete pain to scan the codes into your phone like mine, the tutorials are also available on UD's site on youtube which when scanned directs your phone instantly to anyway. The best thing though for people reading right now.......if you head over to urbandecay.com pronto, the B.O.S IV is on sale for an outrageous discount......$44.00 with an additional $15.00 off with the code SEVENTEEN11 which is right on the website making the palette only $29.00 originally $64.00!!!!! Waiting for a little while when these palettes come out literally pays off big time especially with UD and if you're also familiar with Too Faced Cosmetics opposed to jumping on it when it debuts. Unfortunately the powerhouses like Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, etc.... the prices will never budge. We however are discussing the fabulous, edgy Urban Decay so on to the photos! Enjoy my darlings ;)

Book of Shadows IV

Please excuse my bruise the swatches are running into

Book of Shadows IV on the left, Book III on the right

Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencil Stash

Sin & Rehab complement one another quite nicely

 For quick and easy eyes, I gotta say I rather like the new Urban Decay Glide-On Shadow Pencils and the 24/7 Shadow Pencil Stash is an awesome way to try out a few colors on sale for only $12.00 originally $34.00 at urbandecay.com. The stash has three nude/neutral colors and two vibrant colors. There's Clash-a bright turquoise with silver sparkle. Delinquent-a dark purple w/bright purple sparkle. Sin-a shimmering champangne. Juju-a frosted taupe which is brand new & only to be found in this set and my second favorite color, it's gorgeous really, and Rehab-described simply as a taupe but looks like more of a brown to me. They go on nice and creamy so you can blend, smoke, whatever you wish before they then set to be crease-proof, as well as waterproof. However they are not indestructible, for when I slept in mine I awoke to lopsided eyes unlike with my regular UD eyeshadows, with primer potion underneath of course which does not budge until I wash my face the next day should I fall asleep with it on. Which as you all know is a major skincare NO NO but, eh...no one's perfect! For a quick, warm look, in the pictures below I applied Sin to my lids and Rehab to the crease, and above the crease area as well as under the eyes. Up close you can see I made the mistake of not smudging and blending above the crease creating a harsh looking line. I Then lined my upper and lower lash lines with 24/7 Glide-On Eyepencil in Bourbon, a medium brown with tiny gold glitter, quite pretty glimmering in the light, and in record setting time. Heck I did my entire face in record setting time. Since I was going super casual, first I used Smooth Operator Tinted Moisturizer by Tarte, then a light dusting of Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder also by Tarte. Followed by my eyes which I just described. Then of course applying a cheek stain by Tarte in Ten, a limited edition collector's cheek stain in a shimmering pink color that looks fabulous on my light skin, also on one hell of a sale at tartecosmetics.com for only $19.00 originally $30.00 and when this gorgeous color is gone.....it's gone for good. This cheek stain's formulation is also different from the usual formula as this stain is one of the creamier ones which I found contains shea butter opposed to the gel stains which simply have the T5 Superfruit Complex. Just a little secret about shea butter, aside from being a vitamin packed moisture punch for the skin, and that is for all skin types, it acts as a vehicle to carry other beneficial ingredients further deep down into the epidermal layers than without it's aid. After quickly applying some cheek stain which takes literally 5 seconds. I chose a Chanel Rouge Allure Gloss in Imaginaire and ta-da! Done. Main point being though is I'm really glad I got to try these Urban Decay Glide-On Shadow Pencils, I like them a LOT. Hurry up and head over to urbandecay.com quick to catch the sale on the Pencil Stash and a bunch of other awesome deals on great items. Quick! Before all the good stuff is gone, even the latest Book of Shadows is on sale for a crazy low price. I however am planning to snatch up each full size gorgeous color Shadow Pencil that catches my fancy one by one to my heart's content. They are what Urban Decay says they are, creamy, blendable, crease-proof, and waterproof. As I stated before though, they may not hold up against a pillow yet overall still a wonderful product worth it's quite reasonable $20.00 pricetag. Till next time my darlings......I have a whole bunch of catching up to do and will even be posting pictures of swatches of Urban Decay's Book of Shadow's IV very soon, I haven't had the time to play around with them yet so unfortunately it'll be short n sweet but look out for it very soon possibly later today. Have a great day my darlings!!!  XOXO

Top to Bottom: Clash, Delinquent, Sin, Juju, & Rehab

The original 24/7 Glide-On Pencil

All 3 go together quite well

Tarte Cheek Stain in Ten, a Limited Edition Collector's Stain

Tarte smooth operator Amazonian clay finishing powder

The final result, quick & easy

Cake.........Beauty, not food ;o)

Get your Cake n eat it too

For soft hands & beautiful nails

 For those of you who have never heard of Cake, it's a great company created by our awesome neighbors to the north. I cannot get over the fact that I've never been disappointed by one single creation of theirs! The only  time I've ever been bummed by this company is when something is available in Canada only. That's saying a lot coming from a girl who's bathroom looks like I ransacked the counter at Neiman's and every nearby small town bath & body boutique. The formulas always, I mean every single freaking time has ingredients that leave a smug smile on my face because if it doesn't make the cut, it's not touching my skin! Every concoction smells deliciously edible done right. They've just released a new perfume I'm dying to get my hands on because I'm just as much a perfume junkie as I am with any product that makes you look, feel, and smell like a goddess. Before I go into specific product reviews, to check them out, and they are worth it, point your sassy self over to cakebeauty.com and go nuts! Now, the fun stuff! Lately I've been pretty on top of my nails, heck I've got nice nail beds so why not start painting them and just go all out? They are however pathetically weak, I mean BAD. They bend, split, anything a nail can do to misbehave....mine love to do. Enter Butter London and Cake. Butter London makes a ridiculously awesome miracle of a product called Horse Power Nail Fertilizer. This stuff is doing my nails so good I could cry! They're growing past a certain point! Hard and healthy! As far as my hands and cuticles, Milk Made by Cake. The Smoothing Hand & Cuticle Buffer is a miracle worker, no joke! Leave it to the girls at Cake to make something so simple leave your hands feeling like someone worked on them for an hour. It's simply a wonderful concoction of beneficial oils and sugar which you scoop out with a little spoon, 2 scoops to be exact. Rub, scrub, and rub for a good minute or two concentrating on your cuticles, then rinse. Voila! The softest, silky, and yummiest smelling hands will be yours. Finish off with the Milk Made Velveteen Hand Creme which in my opinion is the best hand cream available and you're good to go. The hand creme sinks right in leaving your hands so comforted and soft, my hands will never stray. This stuff along with the hand & cuticle smoother are so good, I don't even want to try anything else! Now for the rest of your bodacious body, there's 2 delicious smelling Supremely Rich Bath & Shower Froths A.K.A. Double Bubble in It's a Slice which smells of sweet orange & creamy vanilla. If smelling like a sexy creamsicle isn't your forte, go with Deserted Island which leaves the skin soft and silky as well, however smelling of coconuts & vanilla. Both shower gels have an accompanying Supreme Body Mousse. Gotta say I love the body lotions/mousse because they are just as moisturizing as a good body butter. Cake also just recently released body scrubs in these two scents. So for powerhouse sexy and silky skin, shower up with your choice of froth, scrub them curves with either vitamin-rich sugar scrub, pat dry and finish off with great for your skin as well mousse for knock em dead, damn woman! You smell so good I could eat you up skin. Trust me, your partner won't be able to keep their hands or noses to themselves I kid you not ;o)

Never be without your beloved Cake products

For a good hair day every day

 The Shower gels and body lotions come in a great little travel or try-me sized kit that comes along with a little bottle of Velveteen Hand Creme that complies with the FAA. My favorite lip balm ever, Mulberry Sorbet I think is being discontinued much to my dismay along with quite a few other products that are on sale right now so grab em before they're gone because the prices are UH-mazing. Two of these products are their Satin Sugar Shampoo & Multipurpose Conditioner which I stocked up on because they leave my ultra fine hair clean, shiny, and bouncy. Never a bad hair day with Cake so I'm praying like a madwoman that they are planning on releasing something better. They are famous especially

among beauty editors however, for their Satin Sugar Dry Shampoo for hair and body. One just for Blonde's and another for us Brunettes. Cake also just released a new formulation........Satin Sugar Glistening Dry Shampoo & Body Powder. The website says: "satin sugar glistening is a revolutionary new dry shampoo that uses light-reflecting minerals to achieve shiny and healthy-looking hair without washing!" I'm personally not the dry shampoo type of dame, but if you are Cake is the way to go without a doubt. The last product I'm going to discuss I am the saddest to say goodbye to, after I OF COURSE stocked up on....how could I not? The discount was almost criminal! This gem, at least I thought, of a product was Cake's Better Body Rub. The best body butter among my treasure trove of products at the moment. Why did I love this stuff so much to actually curse when I found out it was being discontinued? Because it was "firming". Yup, that simple, well not really but you get the idea. See I wasn't one of the lucky moms out there whose skin snapped right back after spending 32 hours pushing a 9 pound bundle of joy out. Nope, my darling princess whom turns 6 going on 28 at the end of this month left her mark on me. Shove a 9 pound baby in someone who naturally weighs 115 pounds standing at 5'9" well if you can't see where I'm going here, how the hell did you make it out of high school??!? Until I am absolutely done crowding the earth with my spawn, haha, and I have abdoplasty, this mermaid by nature is cursed to never wear a teeny weeny itsy bitsy 2 piece anything again for not wanting to offend and turn to stone innocent  and unassuming onlookers. Therefore anything "firming" is welcome!!!!! Not only was this product firming, it left my skin so smooth and silky. I mean for a body butter this stuff sunk in like the Titanic! So I am left begging that Cake comes out with a bigger, better, stronger, bad boy!!!!!! Being that I've only 2 jars left I can feel my nerves ready to go into overload, however I will always love Cake. They have and I'm sure will continue to keep me smiling at bath time. Till next time my darlings. XOXO

Get rubbed the right way!

B. Kamins Laboratories

My current arsenal of skincare by B. Kamins Laboritories

1 of my favorite Masks & Skincare lines

Aaahhh, B. Kamins Laboritories.....I've been eyeing this skincare company for a decade, a skincare line formulated around the power of the Maple intrigued me. However, being 24 back then I didn't really need serious anti-aging skincare products, I was already blessed with good skin and genetics. Fast forward to 34 INTERVENTION TIME! Haha! See I have a problem, I love trying new skincare products even if the current one I'm using is spectacular. Yes, always thinking the grass is greener on the other side ;). However, I am hella glad I made the switch! I have combination skin so I can use either creams or lotions depending on the season.....yay me! Since gorgeous skin is all about early prevention and I still am blessed with the skin of a 20 something, darlings it was time for me to take the splurge! Because of my monthly monster and the little monster that tries to pop up on my face during that time, I opted for the Clear Skin Purifying cleanser and toner and it works!!!!! I love the subtle tingle from the cleanser. After washing I also exfoliate with the Bamboo and Rice Facial Polisher at night. I also of course give myself a mini-facial 3 times a week, essentially simply slapping a mask on my mug. I haven't had the pleasure of trying B. Kamin's yet, however I am head over heels for Ole Henriksen's Firming Mask, which I will also note is another spectacular line. I also do have an affection for the fresh masks made by Lush if you are lucky enough as well to live near one. No more monthly blemish for me :D As for treatment I opted for the Glycolic 10 and alternate with the Renewal Serum to apply under my Day Cream w/SPF 15 or Night Moisturizer. These two gems erase all the naughty sunbathing, and tanning bed days. Drinking, and smoking, all the offenses we waged on our skin during our reckless youth. Since using these for just 2 weeks my pores seemed to have disappeared, my freckles from sunbathing have lightened tremendously and my skin looks as though it's lit from within. As for the moisturizers I use the Day Cream SPF 15 with anti-aging properties of course which is fabulous for the winter since it is on  the heavy side which I have to apply with a very light hand as it does take a while to sink into my combo skin. With warmer days coming up I also have the Day Lotion SPF 15 which my skin sucks right in. At bedtime I use the Night Cream formulated for all skin types which though it feels it never sinks into my skin leaves it looking and feeling fabulous upon waking. Last but not least the eye cream. I opted for the heavier formula which is creamy, dreamy, and VERY moisturizing. So bottom line I am liking the results from these products formulated with all the good juju from the mighty Maple tree, ha. I could go on and on about the benefits and results however my darlings it's quite late and I need my rest, I wish I could say beauty sleep but it's mommy sleep haha! Bottom line, B. Kamin's Laboratory makes a great line. Just a note for those who suffer from sensitivities or rosacea, there are a BUNCH of products they have formulated in their line especially for those skin types to ease the redness and inflamation. Every product is a pleasure to use and does what it says, at least the ones that I have used. Hugs and Kisses sweethearts!