Tarte Bow & Go Holiday 2013 Set

Purchased by me

You can always count on Tarte around the Holiday season to come up with great collections and offerings.  This year was no exception with the Tarte Bow & Go Set, offered on QVC ($49.98 through a TSV offering; regular price $61; sale price $54.98 excluding s&h).  I signed up for auto-delivery as there will be an additional collection being shipped in April 2014.

This set was a 24-piece, three-box holiday collection with a 16-shade Amazonian clay eye shadow palette, four LipSurgence(TM) lip cremes, two smolderEYES(TM) Amazonian clay waterproof eyeliners, and two lights, camera, LASHES(TM) 4-in-1 mascaras.

The first box contains 16 Amazonian clay eye shadows in various shades, no brush though (each shade 0.0705 oz.).  The shades are:

Tickled Pink, Playful Plum, Radiant Rosewood, Sage 

Advice (first row; pictured here top to bottom):

Beaming Bronze, Grateful Grey, Alluring Almond, Hot Cocoa (second row; pictured here top to bottom):

Ideal Ivory, Roasted Chestnut, Buttercream Frosting, Pumped Up Purple (third row; pictured here top to bottom):

Marvelous Mocha, Truly Taupe, Peachy Keen, Blissful Brown (fourth row; pictured here top to bottom):

The eye shadow box also contains two guides to achieve two looks, one for day and one for evening.

The second box contains 2 smolderEYES waterproof liners and 2 lights, camera, lashes mascara tubes.  The smolderEYES shades are Fig, a rich plum shade and Matte Brown, a chocolate shade.  Both mascaras are in black.  Here's a close-up of the liners, swatches, and the mascara wand:

The third and final box contains 4 LipSurgence pencils (.10 oz each).  The shades are Precious (nude mauve), Promise (berry), Thoughtful (Brown Mauve) and Wonder (Pinky rose).  Here's a close-up of each shade and swatches:

Left to Right: Precious, Promise, Thoughtful, Wonder

The set includes a goldtone ribbon for gift-giving but you know I will be keeping this baby.

Overall rating: Booyah! for the value, shade selection, and lovely packaging.  The one downside is that I find peppermint oil to be somewhat drying to my lips so I always have to hydrate my pucker more than usual when using these pencils.

Did you pick up this collection?  Did you sign up for the auto-delivery?  I can't wait to see what's in store for the April offering.  In the meantime, I'll be doing my best to go through these babies.

L'Oréal Colour Riche Balm - Limited Edition POP Shades

L'Oréal has added four limited edition shades to their Colour Riche Balm range.  The four POP shades arrived just in time for the holiday season when I like to reach for more pigmented lip products.  The cost and packaging of these are identical to the other balms, but these have a sticker on the top identifying them as POP shades and limited edition.

Left to Right: Ballet Show, Dragon Fruit, Lilac Sweetness, Vineyard Peach

The four shades in numerical order are as follows:

171 Ballet Show - a warm pink
172 Dragon Fruit - a vivid reddish pink
174 Lilac Sweetness - a mauve/plum
176 Vineyard Peach - a deep coral

Here are close-ups of the shades and swatches:

Left to Right: Ballet Show, Dragon Fruit, Lilac Sweetness, Vineyard Peach

Top to Bottom: Ballet Show, Dragon Fruit, Lilac Sweetness, Vineyard Peach

These retailed for $5.99 at my local Target.  If you are a fan of lip butters/balms but yearn for a bit more pigmentation, these are the balms for you.  They do have a mild, fruity fragrance which I notice more when applying to my lips.  The fragrance, in my opinion, does not linger very long, unlike the color, which has a bit more staying power, thanks to the amped up level of pigmentation.

Overall rating: Booyah!  I love sheer lippies with a soft, sheer texture.  These offer just the right amount of color without being too overwhelming.  The shades can be layered for more "POP."

Tarte Cosmetics Leave Her Blushing Set - Holiday 2013 Collection

I know it's been a while since I have last posted.  The bad news is my life was crazy and it took me away from you guys.  The good news, however, is that I have many reviews to bring you so please stay tuned.  I wanted to kick things off with Tarte's Amazonian Clay Blush Set for this holiday season.

The Leave Her Blushing Set is a wonderful set of limited edition shades and if you have not yet discovered Tarte's amazonian clay 12-hour formula, this is a great way to see what all the hype is about.  The set retails for $34 and includes 3 deluxe Amazonian clay 12-hour blushes as well as an ultra-soft blush brush.

The three limited-edition shades are: 

• Treasured, a melon shade
• Honored, a nude rose shade
• Imagined, a candy pink shade

Left to Right: Treasured, Honored, Imagined

Here is a close-up of each shade, swatches, and the brush:

Treasured

Honored

Imagined

Top to Bottom: Treasured, Honored, Imagined

These blushes are formulated without parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, and synthetic fragrance.

Overall rating: Booyah!

These are wonderful blushes.  The consistency of this formula is legendary and just when I think my blush stash is complete, Tarte throws me a curveball!  The value of this set is great.  The brush alone retails for $28.  Each of these blush compacts offer 1.5 g/.053 oz of product, about 26% of what the full-sized version (5.6 g/.2 oz; $28).  I only have one recommendation.  I would love it if these smaller blushes could be easily removed from their compacts like the full-sized ones.

POPSUGAR Must Have Box - February 2013

So we are already in March.  Is it me or is this year flying by?  February is such a short month…you blink and it's March.  Didn't want too much time to be by before sharing the contents of my POPSUGAR Must Have Box for February - a celebration of romance, sweet goodies, and love.  POPSUGAR'S Must Have Box costs $35 plus tax (free shipping) and it includes a variety of must have products from the worlds of beauty, fashion, fitness, food, and home.

My February Box contained the following items:

Fashion - Brokedown Spa Wrap - Powder Pink - www.brokedownclothing.com; $84.00 - If you started off 2013 the right way and are working out, this great wrap comes in handy at the gym.  This ultra-soft wrap comes in one size and is luxurious and cozy.  An offer for 30% off a future purchase is included.

Fashion - Hanky Pankys - Apple Zing - www.hankypanky.com; $20 - These ultra comfortable thongs come in a variety of colors.  Perfect for special occasions or even for everyday.  Panty lines and discomfort are a thing of the past with these thongs.  A 15% off coupon code for a future purchase is included.

Food - MarieBelle New York's Trésor Box - Dark Chocolate Pearls - www.mariebelle.com; $12 - These decadent babies come in the cutest box.  MarieBelle, in SoHo, offers a whole host of goodies.  These are great all on their own.  I dressed up my heart-shaped pancakes with these babies on Valentine's Day.

Beauty - Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Romantic - www.revlon.com; .095 oz/2.7 g/$7.49-$8.99 vary by store; - As many of you know, I just love nude lippies.  I shy away from Red on my lips as I always feel like it looks as if my mouth is bleeding.  This lightweight stain offers just a hint of color and left behind a shade of red that I could live with.

Entertainment - Safe Haven Book and Song Download - www.safehavenfilm.com; Paperback/$7.99 - Nicholas Sparks strikes again with this love story that has been adapted for the big screen starring Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough.  The bookmark holds all the info needed to download "The Journey" from the film's soundtrack.

Home - Connoisseurs Quick Jewelry Cleanser - www.connoisseurs.com; 5 fl. oz./150 ml/$5.99 - Not sure if you got bling for Valentine's Day, but if you did or if you have a nice little collection, you can keep it beautiful and sparkling with this safe and gentle cleanser.  This gel comes with its own little brush to make cleaning easy.  Safe for gold, platinum and gemstones, it's great to have.

Special Extra:

Food - Conversation Hearts; 3 pack - $7.95; www.candy.com - This nostalgic pack of Sweethearts took me back to my elementary school days when a certain someone gave me my first taste of these cute treats and their messages.

Overall rating: Booyah!!!  If you have not yet tried POPSUGAR Must Have Boxes/Bags, you're truly missing out.  Each one gets better and better.  I've yet to be disappointed.  The value and selection of items are not to be believed!!!  The value of this box was over $100.  How can you beat that?

If you're interested in trying POPSUGAR, please click here.

My February Ipsy Bag - "Red Carpet Ready"

The February Ipsy Bag, themed "Red Carpet Ready," is a shiny, vinyl black zipper bag with a red lining loaded with a face primer, eyeshadow, gel eyeliner, mascara, lash cards and coupon codes from participating vendors.

Here's a review of the items I received and descriptions as reflected on the brand websites:

Pixi - Flawless & Poreless - Pore Minimizing Face Primer - 0.5 fl. oz./15 ml deluxe sample; Full size 1.01 fl. oz./30 ml/$29 - The Pixi Flawless & Poreless primer creates a beautiful no-shine finish for flawless, long-lasting makeup application. This shine controlling, oil-free primer smooths out fine lines and hydrates while making pores instantly disappear. It is the perfect skin primer for all complexions and all skin types. There is an offer for 20% off a future order on ipsy.com.

Coastal Scents - Eyeshadow Sample - In The Spotlight - Dark Goldenrod, Sunbeam, Golden Globe, Dark Golden Olive - Sample size .07 oz/2 g; Full size .04 oz/1.3 g/$1.99 each shade - This mini quad contains 4 complementary colors to create a quick eye look.  The sample is easy to travel with.  The shades included are:  Dark Goldenrod (a deep, gleaming golden hue with a satiny finish), Sunbeam (an alluring pastel yellow with a matte finish), Golden Globe (a glistening golden hue with a satin finish) and Dark Golden Olive (a shimmering, deep green hue with iridescent golden sparkles).  Each can be purchased on coastalscents.com.  There is a coupon code for 25% off a future purchase via ipsy.com.

Mica Beauty - Gel Eyeliner  - Appears to be Full size .18 oz/5 g/$30 - Micabeauty Ultra Smooth Gel Eyeliners make it easy for anyone to apply eyeliner without dealing with smudges, uneven lines, or fading. These Gel Eyeliners include 5 highly pigmented colors perfect for any occasion and are sure to last longer than regular eyeliners.  I couldn't help but notice that what is on the website comes with a brush, while what was shipped was just in a pot.  It is possible that they have changed their packaging.  The jar I received was not labeled for size but I believe it is full-sized.  There is an offer for 30% on ipsy.com.

Pop Beauty - Smoky Lash Kapow Mascara  - Smoky Black - Full size .17 oz/4.8 g/$14 - This mascara fattens each lash to give a maximum volumizing end result.  It delivers an ultra black, extra glossy finish that is tear (from laughing of course!), swim (go on, just jump in!), rub (well you never know?) and sweat proof (dancing is SUCH good exercise).  Fiber-free so suitable for contact lens & sensitive eyes.  Ophthalmologist-tested. Fragrance-Free.  There is an offer for 20% off on ipsy.com.

Lash Card - Mascara Shields - Sample package of 2 shields; Full size 10 cards/$6.99 - Ideal for protecting your shadow application from mascara smudges or if you're layering mascara, these shields protect your base from unwanted smudges and stray marks.  I love using these when applying mascara to my bottom lashes.  Shields are individually wrapped so they are hygienic. A Buy 2, Get 1 free is offered on ipsy.com.

Overall rating:  Booyah!  for value of the product contents and introducing me to new products brands that I now love.  I just love it when I can try a new product and locating a full-sized purchase is easy.  The coupon codes are listed on the ipsy.com site so if you lose your insert card, you're not out of luck.