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 

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

tarte 100% Pure Cold Pressed Maracuja Oil from the Amazon - QVC.com

tarte 100% Pure Cold Pressed Maracuja Oil from the Amazon - QVC.com So back in November I gave you all a tease about my little wonder product, my latest beauty Ah-Ha!, Tarte's Maracuja oil which I am still clutching in my hands greedily in the early morning of December 22nd 2012, Happy New Years by the way my darlings :D! However back to business Maracuja oil beautifully if I may say presented to us by Tarte. Now most of you are probably going to or are already scratching your heads, what in the heck is Maracuja oil? Well in laments terms ladies and the intelligent gent or two out there, Maracujua oil is simply oil from the seeds of the passion flower fruit. Now I can hear some of you grumbling well I can get Maracuja oil from my GNC for a whole lot cheaper or this other supplement place. Some of you are right and some of you are wrong because what makes Tarte's' Maracuja Oil so special? Where it's harvested! Who is harvesting it! Is it Fair Trade?!  Under what conditions are they being collected and taken to have this amazing oil pressed until they finally fill our gorgeous purple bottles with the bamboo and gold topper batting her powerful eyelashes.....look at me, use me! Let me make you more beautiful my darling!!! Seducing us to use it from out of our vanities or bathroom counters? Well ladies, as anyone who knows anything about Tarte knows the lovely eco-friendly company's founder, Maureen Kelly is a GENIUS!!!! Bringing us all these innovative, pristine, and powerful ingredients from her trip down the long, long, ancient, did I mention long Amazon River? Jewels of the mighty Amazon River and surrounding rainforests. C'mon! No one knew diddly about Amazonian clay before Maureen discovered it's amazing multifaceted powers to benefit ALL skin types in SO many different mediums? Illuminating serums, tinted moisturizers which I will add Tarte's Smooth Operator Tinted Moisturizer is the best damn tinted moisturizer in the industry right now. None of the powerhouses of makeup can hold a candle up to Smooth Operator and I mean NONE!!!! I had oily skin in my teens to mid 20's that turned to what it is now at 34 combination, one of the most frustrating skin types to have because I now have to tend to both oily girl and dry girl skin issues. But if that's what I have to endure to have 19 year old men asking me out because they think I'm about 24 or 25, I'll damn well take it! HAHA! Now back to the Maracuja oil. It's light golden in color, has a natural slightly veggie/nutty scent about it which I've read some complaints about but come on now. You don't use skincare for the way it smells, and it's not even a strong smell, which dissipates as soon as it's applied to the skin. Did anyone go to use Tea Tree Oil for their acne issues smell it and think "YUMMY! I wanna just drink this stuff!"? Now This oil can and should be used as as a serum under moisturizer except for on very oily girls who can use it alone as moisturizer. Cleanse your skin, I currently use Pangea's cleanser for normal/combo skin or an organic handmade soap. Next tone, as an esthetician it shocks and drives me crazy the amount of people out there that don't get it why they need to use a toner after done washing! Now pay attention ladies.....especially you non toners! When we wash our skin we are throwing the PH of our skin out of whack. Now get some good cotton, organic is best if you can afford it, however spray your selected toner for your skin type onto the cotton pad and wipe the skin clean with it. What you are doing is re-balancing your skin's PH levels, wiping off remaining traces of cleanser or dirt, as well as prepping your skin to receive and absorb either your serum, our Maracuja oil for those of us lucky enough to have it and then moisturizer over it much better so the actives can delve into the deeper layers of the dermis and go to work. If your skin is dry, normal, mature, and/or damaged, you will want to use Maracuja oil as a serum before you moisturize. Combo girls feel it out, what I do is since I now have makeup optional skin since using Tarte on my facial skin exclusively, in the a.m. I will apply my moisturizer or Smooth Operator tinted moisturizer with.....TA DAAA....Amazonian clay after I feel the Maracuja oil sink into my skin. I even apply my Maracuja oil on my eye area making it all the more beneficial before applying my Pangea eye cream and my peepers are smooth, soft, and relaxed with no lines in sight. I've laughed and continue to laugh a whole lot in my life and have very little evidence of it. Now remember genetics plays a large role in that but so does the fact that I have always been on the wagon of PREVENTION! Now how is my skin you ask since I last left off? Smoother. Brighter. Reduction of monthly flareups. Reduction of pesky blackheads. Glowing skin, Comfortable, even happy skin. A marked reduction in sun damage and the pesky marks leftover from the good old 'pregnancy mask' that some of you other ladies that are mothers can identify with. I have....roll the drums.......found an AMAZING looking organic skincare company that I will be trying after I'm done using up all my Pangea called Angel Face Botanicals, if I don't get derailed by another line that is. This off the charts fabulous indie company has managed to get mentioned in Cosmopolitan, as well as Bazaar Magazines. Had the honor of top two finalists for about.com's Best Indie Skin Care People's choice awards. Won Fast Company Magazines Best of Artesian Cosmetics. The list goes on, I mean just numerous notable magazines and beauty and eco-chic blogs. The owner is known as the 'Spa Goddess' for good reason, this amazing creature doesn't utilize one single filler in any of her marvelous formulations. Prices are also very reasonable, a full size starter kit of best selling facewash, toner, and moisturizer goes for only $55.00 while the travel size of the same set is still friggin big is only $35.00. Also the perk of a 1st time purchase discount when you sign up for the newsletter. It just doesn't get any better! Honest, chemical free skincare with some impressive ingredients and makeup from Tarte that is truly good for your skin. Seriously! Skincare disguised as makeup!!!! MUSIC!!!! And I think to myself......what a wonderful world.............

XOXO Till next time my darlings!