Tarte LipSurgence - Baby It's Bold Outside Statement Lips

Hi all! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are gearing up and keeping calm for the rest of the holiday season. I have been so backed up on life in general, that my blog posts, and video reviews have suffered. I really do apologize for that.

Any-who! I'm here to talk to guys today about the Tarte LipSurgence Baby It's Bold Outside Statement Lips Set (better late than never, right?). As you all may know from my last post about Tarte LipSurgence, I LOVE THESE THING!! This set was part of Tarte's holiday gift set collection ($34). Lately it has become rather difficult to track these down because they no longer have it on the Sephora website or Ulta or even Tarte (btw, Tarte is having a 30% sale) for that matter :(.  However, I have seen them at the Sephora stores and QVC.com , so I would say if you are interested in picking this set up, the sooner you do it, the better. I missed out on last years LipSurgence set, and I can't tell you how much I regretted it. Especially, since individually each LipSurgence goes for $24 and in this set you get 5 for $34. OK, enough back-story and on to the review and swatches!!

Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Line Review - BzzAgent

Once again, I was offered a BzzAgent campaign to try the Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Line, specifically the Night Cream, Cream Cleanser & The Hydrating Mask. As a Bzzagent I received these full size products for free to review the product and see how effective it is for its purpose. It is free to become a BzzAgent, and I would say that if you like to test out different products and enjoy reviewing them, there should be nothing stopping you from signing up for this program.

Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade - BzzAgent

As most of you may know by now I am a BzzAgent. As a BzzAgent I receive free items to test and review. These free items range from cosmetics to coffee. It is free to sign up! Today I am here to review Green Mountain Coffee K-Cup Packs. I was sent 3 sample packs of each of the following flavors/roasts: Extra Bold Sumatran Reserve, Colombian Fair Trade Select, Vermont Country Blend, and Wild Mountain Blueberry. First off, I just want to say, that I do not, in any way, consider myself a coffee or food connoisseur. All I can really say is that I like what I like. I realize that is not very helpful, but I figured I would put it out there.

Glade Expressions Collection - BzzAgent

Hi everyone! As some of you may know by now I am a BzzAgent. As a BzzAgent I get invited to review products for free, ranging from cosmetics, skin care, food, and home fragrance. Last month I was sent coupons to purchase 2 Glade Expressions for free. I was very much looking forward to trying this collection  because I am always looking for non-plug in scented oils, and for a good bathroom spray that doesn't require you to spray a huge cloud of fragrance to cover the odor (you all know what I'm talking about!). Anyway! I picked up the Cotton and Italian Mandarin Fragrance Mist, and the Fuji Apple & Cardamom Spice Oil Diffuser.

L'Oreal le Gloss Project Runway Limited Edition 2012 - The Temptress' Shine, The Mystic's Shine

It's been a while since I ventured into glosses, but I was highly intrigued by these 2 limited edition L'Oreal le Gloss Project Runway glosses. I have 2 other le Gloss lip glosses in Peach Fuzz and Watermelon Crush. All of these glosses are comparable to each other, which is good; I like consistency when it comes to a good thing. These glosses are not sticky, yet they are substantial, and have a vanilla scent to them, which is a refreshing change from the mint.

L-R: The Temptress' Shine, The Mystic's Shine

BzzAgent - Unreal 77 Candy Peanut Butter Cups

Hi everyone! As some of you may know from a previous post, I am a bzzagent. A BzzAgent receives samples or coupons to try out certain products ranging from beauty, food, and electronics. As a BzzAgent you are able to share your honest opinion about the product and at the same time get to try something new. As a BzzAgent, I was invited to join the Unreal Candy campaign and was sent coupons to purchase 1 free Unreal Candy and other coupons to share with friends and family that were Buy 1 get 1 Free. After many days of searching for individually wrapped Unreal Candy, I finally found it!! I picked up the Unreal Candy Peanut Butter Cups. At one point I was very tempted to pick up a huge bag from my local BJs, or Pharmacy, but I restrained myself, as I can tend to be a little finicky when it comes to my chocolate.

Magnetic Polish - Sinful Colors Sinfully Magnetic & Nails Inc.

Hey everyone! So, I finally experimented enough with my Magnetic Polish Collection that I thought I would share my thoughts with you. I know I'm a little late on the magnetic polish trend, but I was finally able to get my hands on the higher end ones and then conveniently found some Sinful Colors ones as well that I liked. First off, I bought the Nails Inc. Magnetic Polish in the colors: Whitehall and London Town. They happen to have been on sale at Sephora for $7 a piece (Originally $16 each). Then a few weeks later I walked into my local RiteAid (I also saw the display at Target) and saw that Sinful Colors came out with their own "Sinfully Magnetic" line, the first one I picked up was in the color Polar Opposites ($4.99, but I got mine for $4.50) and it had a star pattern magnet. Then, yesterday, I walked into my RiteAid looking for cough suppressant and decided to walk through the beauty aisle (how convenient) and found a NEW! Sinful Colors "Sinfully Magnetic" display this time with a snake skin pattern magnet ($4.99, but I got mine for $4.50). I couldn't resist and picked it up in the gorgeous color, Snake it Out!

Application Tip: The key to all Magnetic Polishes is to let the 1st coat dry completely and then apply a generous 2nd coat, and for the 2nd coat you have to do each nail one at a time. I usually leave the magnet on for 30 seconds because I am a bit paranoid that the pattern will not show in only 20 seconds. After applying the 2nd coat, let it dry completely before applying the top coat to make sure that you do not smudge or blur the pattern on the nail.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Charm, Precious, Honey

Hi All! So my chubby lip pencil obsession continues with 3 of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. I am biding my time till I pick up the new Tarte LipSurgence Set - it's very hard for me. Anyway, I figured it was about time I reviewed the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains for you all. I have 3 colors: Honey (001), Charm (035), and Precious (050). I wanted to pick up the neutral/nude colors from this collection because I am lacking nude and neutral lip colors in my personal stash. These pencils seem to be modeled after Clinique's Chubby Sticks, with their silver bottoms and twist up feature.

L-R: Honey, Precious, Charm

Maybelline Color Show Limited Edition Nail Polish - Boho Gold & Avante Green

Hi All! Sorry it has been so quiet on my end. I've been sick for over a week and a half with an upper respiratory infection and a stomach virus all rolled up into 1; sounds dandy does it not ? :) - I finally gathered enough energy to actually be able to type something, and get up a short companion review for the Maybelline Color Show Limited Edition 2012 nail polishes that I bought several weeks ago in the colors Boho Gold and Avante Green. These were really the only 2 of the collection that caught my eye during the Maybelline Buy 1 get 1 50% off sale at my local RiteAid.

Boho Gold: In the bottle is a gorgeous duo-chrome gold with a hint of blue-green. On the nails the first 2 coats were a disappointment, the color is sheer and the duo-chrome effect does not translate fully. You will need 3 coats to get the full effect of this polish and considering you are only getting .23fl oz, this bottle will probably go by quickly. The final color, is an antiqued gold with a slight hint of green in certain lights.

Sinful Colors Hot Flash Metallics!

Hi all!! I recently picked up 5 of the 8 nail polishes from the Sinful Colors Hot Flash Metallics Collection. Metallic & Duo Chrome nail polishes are everywhere this fall and I am so glad! Although I will not be neglecting my chunky glitters, metallic will be on the "go to" list ! They are great for accent nails, and even a full Mani or Pedi, and for the Sinful Color's price of $1.99, definitely a guilt free way of trying out the trend! The shades include: Hot hot heat, Heavy Metal, Hot Wired, Supernova, Zincing of You, Moss Have, Precious Metal, Gone Platinum.

L-R: Zincing of You, SuperNova, Heavy Metal, Hot Hot Heat, Hot Wired

All of the Maybelline Color Tattoo Limited Edition Shades! Fall 2012

I know I haven't made this known previously, but I have had a crush on Maybelline Color Tattoo's since they came out! Why I haven't reviewed them in the past? Probably because I started this blog after I had already had my hands on them for a while (That's just a guess-timate). Any-who! I have all of the permanent collection that I will review for you in a separate Blog Posting, so this is dedicated SOLELY to all of the Limited Edition Shades. I ended up getting ALL of them, 4 at Rite Aid where they have the Fall Fashion Week Line (Who is completely sold out of them by me) and 4 at Target who has the line that corresponds with the New Maybelline Great Lash-Reboot in matching Colors. Now, that I covered my back story lets get into each collection separately:

Julep Maven - Boho Glam Intro Box!

Hi all! So I finally took the plunge a few days ago, and got a monthly subscription beauty box of sorts. After much thought and research, I committed to Julep Maven! They have a great flexible program, that gives you the option to skip a month, or even send your monthly box to a friend. You also get a chance to preview the box you are getting or choose between a few other boxes they offer. At $19.99 a month, I need that flexibility and options! I guess I'm sort of a commitment phob when it comes to these types of things, I mean don't get my wrong, I'm all about surprises, but not when I'm dropping that kind of money once a month; I want that flexibility! (I officially sound like a cheap-ass right now, and I sincerely apologize, but what if I'm budgeting to buy a pair of unif hellraisers ::wink wink:: I would rather put the money towards that for the next few months).

The value that you are getting isn't too shabby either. Julep Polishes, which I have only been able to find in Sephora or the Julep website, retail for $14 a bottle! In this program you get at least 2 polishes per box. Aside, from all that though, I wanted to try these polishes out and see what all the hype was about, they are always on trend with their polish colors, and they are toxin free!

Moving on to the swatches!! I chose the Boho Glam Intro box that came with: The Best Ever Pedi Creme, Julep Nail Vernis in Sasha, and Julep Nail Vernis in Toni.

Julep Boho Glam Box - The Best Pedi Creme Ever, Julep - Sahsa, Julep - Toni

Rimmel London - Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick Collection #4, #14, #15

Rimmel Kate Collection #4 & #14 (Flash)

Rimmel Kate Collection #4 & #14

Rimmel Kate Collection #15 (Flash)

Rimmel Kate Collection #15

This summer I have stayed away from lipgloss, not for any particular reason, just been obsessed with lip crayons and lipsticks. Today, I'll be talking about the Rimmel London Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick Collection. There are now 10 shades in this collection, mostly pinks, nudes and reds, and 2 rather odd colors, including a deep purple and a grey. The colors that stood out to me the most were #4, #15, and #14. I had heard about this collection last Fall but only recently was intrigued by the Gunmetal-Grey lipstick in this line.

Tarte 'Gifts from the Lipstick Tree' - Achiote, who knew?!

A few weeks ago I received my first Tarte Gift Set! I bought one for myself and one for my mother for Mothers day (I got 30% off each one + Free Shipping).

Gifts from the Lipstick Tree

That's right folks, say 'Hello!' to Tarte's Gifts from the Lipstick Tree! The star of this set is an ingredient called Achiote, and if any of you cook, or are Hispanic, such as yours truly - You're first thought may be...'Don't you cook with that?' - YES! These are those little seeds that we infuse our olive oil with to put it in rice or those yummy pasteles/tamales that we all enjoy! Who knew we would be putting it in our makeup!?

Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm - Lip Crayon Madness!

I’ve been on a bit of a lip crayon kick & I can’t help but start seeing them every where! I had a very difficult time stopping myself from picking up the New Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain I saw at my local Riteaid for $8.99 – So many pretty colors…::drool:: & then I saw that Wet n' Wild had their own lip crayon, MegaSlicks Lip Color Pencil for $2.99. I really deserve a medal for this self-control! To be honest, I’ll probably break down and head on back over there tomorrow with my tail between my legs and pick them up, lol. Oh! Now even Victoria Secret has a line of lip crayons in stores under the ‘Beauty Rush’ line (2 for $12, or $7 individually). THE TEMPTATION IS NEVER ENDING!

I was in Target a few months ago and I saw the Pixi Display and spotted these very cutely packaged lip crayons. It just so happened that I had printed up 2 coupons from the Target website for Pixi products and I had a $10 Target Gift Card, so I decided to splurge and pick up 2 Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balms; ‘Baby Bare’ a soft pink, and ‘Craving Coral’ a bright light coral. At $16 a pop, you better believe I had coupons!

Baby Bare / Craving Coral

Gotta Love EOS Lip Balm Smooth Spheres!

I have to say, I went a little overboard with these lip balms. But, they are SOO useful, especially when you’re carrying around a purse the size of an overnight bag (GUILTY!).

I was looking into these little round cuties, after talking to my brother, who happens to be one of the healthiest and smartest people I know.  He is all into the “organic”/”good for you” products.  So, I decided to venture out and take a stab at the EOS lip balms Smooth Spheres and later their Shave Cream in “Vanilla Bliss” (that stuff smells SOOO Good).

The ideal engagement...House?

I was having a conversation yesterday with a soon to be famous rock star friend of mine (She was featured on billboard.com this month) about love, marriage, and the ever fantasized about engagement. Mind you, we had just gotten out from seeing the “5-year engagement” (Very cute movie – I have a secret crush on Jason Segel, shh! don’t tell anyone).

As we were digging into the $3 rack at Rainbow shop we happened upon this conversation.

Garnier BB Cream - BzzAgent

I received my first BzzKit a few days ago. I am a BzzAgent, so the product that I am reviewing in this blog post is a full size free sample of Garnier's BB Cream in Medium/Deep (It also is available in Light/Medium). I will admit that when I first got invited to this campaign I wasn't sure what BB was, and later found out that (thank you google!) that it is Beauty Balm - It seems, in my opinion, that this is the new name for "tinted moisturizer", but I can see that "BB Cream" is catchier. -- It's all the craze these days, now that my eyes have been opened to this, I now see them everywhere.

Lets start off with the claims: This product claims to Renew Radiance, Brighten your complexion, Even skin tone and blur imperfections, Hydrates for 24 hours, and protects against UVA & UVB rays w/ Spf 15. It provides for a lightweight and flawless finish. It is formulated with the antioxidant Vitamin C to help renew your skin's natural radiance, creating the ever coveted "healthy glow".

Tarte LipSurgence - Collection

Sooo, I know I typed "collection" but really, I only have 2 (for now). I am really in love with these lip crayons!! I have Frisky - Natrual Lip Luster, and Fiery - Natural Matte Lip Tint. There is one thing you all need to know, I have never been big into lipsticks, I have very few, but I am a huge balm and lip gloss girl. OK, with that said let me tell  you a little about both products: they have a light minty smell (nothing like CO Bigelow lip products), and because of the peppermint oil in the product you get a very very mild tingle that goes away very quickly. The packaging on these bad boys, is adorable, it is a twist up crayon with the outside packaging being a fairly accurate representation of the color of the product (the luster has a glittery packaging; and the matte has a matte-rubbery packaging), the covers are on these pretty tight so do be cautious when opening them because you don't want to knock the tip right off as you're eagerly opening it.

Maybelline Baby Lips

I have seen videos and read posts on these little babies since they launched in Janurary (I think). There are 6 in total, the 6th one I did not Purchase was Peppermint (Lime Green Packaging). I was intrigued, so I decided that I would try them out, considering I suffer from very chapped lips. I bought 5 [1 clear, 4 tints] in total, all of them I bought at Target where they are selling them for $3.69 each.

The 5 I purchased were (left to right): Quenched (Color: Clear; Scent: Fruity Pebbles), Grape Vine (Color: Berry; Scent: Dymetap/Grape), Cherry Me (Color: Reddish tint; Scent: Cherry Chapstick), Peach Kiss (Color: Peach w/ fine glitter; Scent: Peachy), Pink Punch (Color: Barbie Pink - alot have said this was a dupe for Mac's Lady Gaga lipstick; Scent: Capri Sun Fruit Punch).

Swatch w/o Flash

Swatch w/ Flash

 From Top to bottom:

Pink Punch

Grape Vine

Cherry Me

Peach Kiss

Lips: My Lips are not very pigmented.

Quenched w/o Flash

Grape Vine w/o Flash

Quenched w/ Flash

Grape Vine w/ Flash

Cherry Me w/o Flash

Cherry Me w/ Flash

Peach Kiss w/o Flash

Peach Kiss w/ Flash

Pink Punch w/o Flash

Pink Punch w/ Flash

Color Pay Off: I did like all of them; they do give slight tints & I did not expect anything more than that. In the case of Peach Kiss it has a bit of glitter in it, so it gives your lips a frosted look. My least favorite was the Pink Punch, the color just did not flatter my skin tone at all, It would probably look better when I have a tan, so I picture myself bringing that bad boy to the beach this summer.

SPF: 20 (awesome)

Scent: I did like the scents, they were not too overwhelming. However, Grape Vine, definitely has a strong grape smell, and as I stated above, it smells like Dymetap (does anyone remember what that stuff smelled like, ugh!) - So I definitely have a bad association, but once it is on the lips the smell is not as strong. 

Price: $3.69 at Target.

[Deals: Target currently has $1 off a Maybelline Cosmetics Item (In addition, check your local drug store weekly ad for those "buy one get one 1/2 off" deals)]

Packaging: The packaging on these is adorable, I have thrown them in my bag filled with stuff and they have not opened on me (Very happy about that). However, I think theses were definitely marketed towards young adults or teenagers, because sometimes when I pull one out of my purse in public, I'm not gonna lie, I get a little embarrassed and I'm in my 20s, lol - But obviously, that doesn't stop me apparently, but I thought I would just throw that in there.

I did really enjoy these, I have really gone through Quenched, because it smells soo good and it does leave my lips very soft. I do have to reapply the product after about 2 hours or so, but again, I do have very dry lips.

Here is the link for more information: Baby Lips

I hope you all enjoyed, and I hope this was helpful to all of you. I obviously could not get into every aspect of the product, so if you have any questions just leave a comment and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Love,

Helen