Hey everyone! Here’s a quick post on some of my favorite finds this year. I had a really, really hard time narrowing down my picks because, frankly, 2014 was a great year of discovery for me, as far as beauty products and cosmetics are concerned. I’ve mixed in fragrance and skin care picks, as well as other products I really wanted to mention that I really loved as well. Let’s start with makeup!
It’s always fun to anticipate Pantone’s color of the year, partly because I rummage through my makeup stash to see if I find anything that’s “on trend.” The Color of the Year for 2015 is Marsala, a gorgeous warm neutral red that’s proven to be divisive among the beauty community. I kind of really, really like it! Even if it does make me quite hungry at times. “Much like the fortified wine that gives Marsala its name, this tasteful hue embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness.” Auxiliary Beauty created a Marsala FOTD a while back, referencing some art that, to her, evoked Color of the Year. Though I’d like to claim that I had been as cultured as her, the first thing I thought of when I found out about the color was food. HEH. Anyway, marsala or some derivative of it seems to have been the color of choice for drapery in the olden days. Check out Jan van Eyck’s The Arnolfini …
The Sky-liner Petites Highliner Collection is a Holiday 2014 offering by Marc Jacobs Beauty, a newcomer in the beauty world. It features seven of the Highliner Gel Liner Crayon shades, which is basically his no-budge, high-pigment version of an eye pencil. These tiny little pencils come in a sleek and sturdy black plastic tin that can be reused and repurposed for storage.
Le Métier de Beauté is a bout just as good as it gets when it comes to eyeshadow formulas. For the December box of their Beauty Vault VIP subscription, they sent out two exclusive VIP program eyeshadows in nameless shades described as “Deep Emerald Green” and “Shimmery Sand-White,” a festive selection for the holidays. I always appreciate it when I get eyeshadows from LMdB, simply because they make some of the best that I’ve tried. They are triple-milled, which is perfect for layering and blending together. Some of the shades I own have questionable pigmentation (especially the dark mattes like Noir), but the formula is perfect for building up the color and blending with other shadows without looking muddy. The Shimmery Sand-White shade can go on a little bit thick/chunky, so a light hand is probably all you’d need with this. The Dark Emerald Green is so beautiful and iridescent. It reminds me of beetles, for some reason. Blended together, you get a silver shade that has a slight green undertone. I’m looking forward to …
Finally. I asked if anyone wanted a video haul, and a few said sure, so now here we are. I actually filmed and edited an earlier version of this, but decided that the camera was too up in my grillz so I ended up re-shooting allll the footage, because it was just not working out. Anyway, this is a bit longer than I’d like my videos to be, but I find that I actually kind of really like it when hauls are kinda long. (Is that just me?) Enjoy, prs! Follow me: Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram • YouTube • Facebook
I first learned of ColourPop from Victoria and a binge-watch of Kathleen Lights‘ videos nearly pushed me over the edge for their products. Their range is pretty modest: eyeshadows, lipsticks, and lip pencils. All at $5 each! They were met with super rave reviews, and since I saw some lip shades I wanted from their offerings, I thought I’d try out a few. I practically lunged at these babies during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday special. I restrained myself and got 2 shades of the Lippie Stix (ugh, this name!) and a limited edition collection of their Super Shock Shadows called Not a Box of Chocolates.
About two weeks ago, I got a package from Beauty Box Corp., the Philippine distributors of K-Palette, Cure, Fairydrops and Prostyle Fuwarie. Kracie is the latest addition to their lineup of Japanese brands, available now in Beauty Bar branches. The Pure Savon Body Wash* (Php 545 for 300ml) is made of a highly concentrated formula that lathers really well, using only just one pump. It contains moisturizers, shea butter, and Soapwort Extract. I have both scents, Classic Floral (green) and Rose Blend (pink). It’s great to know that this is made of plant-based surfactants/washing ingredients. The Aroma Resort line has two products, the Body Milk* (Php 495 for 220ml) and the Hand Cream* (Php 295 for 70ml) both of which I have in Shine Orange and Bergamot. The Aroma Resort series is enriched with abundant fruit and vegetable essences and a long-lasting scent. The essences include extracts from tomato, carrot, and kiwi, as well as Peach Essence, Orange Essence, and Avocado Oil. Aroma Resort products are also formulated with Rose Essence and Apricot Seed Oil …
Softly Sometimes 