NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella & Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien - Sephora Birthday Gift 2015

Is it just me or does Sephora keep stepping up it's birthday gift for beauty insiders year after year? As far back as I can remember thus far it's been Philosophy, Fresh, Benefit, Make Up For Ever and now NARS. I picked up the Sephora Beauty Insider Birthday Gift for 2015 two weeks before my birthday in-store. To my excitement, the gift included minis of the the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella and the NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien. 

The full-size of both lip pencils retails for $26. The minis are only 0.02 oz. less than their full-size counterparts. This means that these little guys retail for ~$17, which is pretty amazing considering they're free. They're also a suitably universal set neutral and a bold colour, wearable for pretty much anybody. Pencil lip products are super handy for on-the-go. The big fat caveat with this one is that it doesn't twist up, so make sure you have a sharpener handy.

On to the colours... 

The NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella is described as a scarlet red. How is it that Cruella is a red yet so darn wearable. The pencil form makes it easy to stay within the lip lines and it only takes one layer for full pigmentation. Furthermore, it's super creamy, moisturizing and rich. Upon application Cruella has a slight "velvet" sheen on the lips that wears down to a complete matte after a couple hours, some eating and drinking. It's not transfer proof but it doesn't bleed or get all over my face. After 6 hours, the product dries down to an even red stain. 

The NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien is described as a rose pink. It has zero shimmer (hurrah!) just a satin rose shade with a hint of shine. On me, it's a my lips but better and virtually fool proof. It's like wearing lip product but it's so similar to my natural lips that I can't tell if it's worn away. Furthermore, just like Cruella, it's hella moisturizing and glides onto the lips with such ease. 

Overall, super impressed by this Sephora freebie. 

Have you tried the NARS Lip Pencils? 

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Sephora Collection Bronzed and Blushing Face Palette

The Sephora Collection Bronzed and Blushing Face Palette ($18 CAD, exclusively at Sephora) contains one bronzer (Los Cabos) and two blushes (blushing pink and coral punch). Another limited edition palette for the holiday season, this one's great if you're going on vacation and want to add a little sun-kissed warmth to your winter skin. 

Los Cabos, Blushing Pink, Coral Punch

All three products in the palette are matte. HALLELUJAH. Los Cabos is a medium chocolate brown. It works better as a contour than a bronzer on my complexion, as it's lacking a lot of yellowy-orange tones. Blushing Pink is a pale rose and Coral Punch is just as the name says it is - a bright coral. Both blushes show up on my face. Blushing Pink adds a hint of colour while Coral Punch provides a warm flush to the face. 

The powders aren't the softest but the colour is easily picked up on a brush and transferred to the face. They're also quite buildable or blendable depending on if you like a softer or bolder cheek look. Wear time is less than perfect at 4-5 hours. 

Wearing - Los Cabos and Blushing Pink 

Overall, it's a great starter kit at a nice price. If you already own a lot of blushes/bronzers, you'll already have these basic colours in your collection (I know I do). Considering the Sephora Collection Bronzed and Blushing Face Palette contains 3 products at $18 total, that's $6 each - comparable to drugstore prices at Sephora Collection quality. 

What do you think of the Sephora Collection Bronzed and Blushing Face Palette?

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Sephora Collection All A Glow Contouring Face Palette

The Sephora Collection All A Glow Contouring Face Palette ($41 CAD, exclusively at Sephora) is yet another limited edition set. In a nutshell, it's a wallet-sized fold-able palette containing everything you should ever need for your face, convenient for different looks and skin tones - concealers, bronzers, powder blushes, cream blushes, cream highlighters, and powder highlighters. There's three shades of everything except for the four powder blushes. It also comes with step-by-step instructions for  Bronzed and Beautiful and Ethereal and Illuminated looks. 

I've honed down on which colours work for my light-medium (~MAC NC 30)  skin colour. So I'll attempt to describe each shade in the palette and if you're having a tl;dr moment, I'll also denote colours that I would personally use with a (*). 

The concealers are cream-to-powder and dry down to a matte finish that lasts ~5 hours when set with a powder. Be forewarned, the concealers work much better over big oily blemishes than ones that are already dried up, as the faux-powder finish exaggerates dryness. 

#1 - light, #2 - medium*, #3 - dark (with a prominent orange tinge)

The powder bronzers impressed me. They feel more finely milled and easily blend-able than I had expected (kind of like a really nice face powder - shade #1 actually works quite nicely as one). 

#1 - light, #2 - light-medium*, #3 - medium

The powder blushes are not quite as soft as the bronzers and as such, they don't apply quite as smoothly. I find the first much too light for my face and the second and third too overtly shimmery for my tastes. 

#1 - matte pastel pink, #2 - neutral pink with gold shimmer, #3 - peach with gold shimmer, #4 - matte hot pink*

I have the same qualms with the cream blushes as I do with the powder ones. The first two have a shimmery iridescence that is too much to apply all over the cheeks, while the last bright pink is absolute perfection. The cream blushes work well to prolong the longevity and pigmentation of the powders for up to 6 hours. 

#1 - neutral pink with gold shimmer, #2 - peach with gold shimmer, #3 - matte hot pink*

The shimmers in the cream highlighters are thankfully much finer than the blushes and cream blushes. The cream highlighters provide a natural sheen to the cheeks and dry down to a powdery finish (similar to the concealer). All three shades suit my complexion. 

#1 - pale yellow shimmer*, #2 - pale pink shimmer*, #3 - pale gold shimmer*

The powder highlighters have slightly more concentration of shimmer than the cream higlighters but the shimmers are still fine enough that they don't look chunky. The texture is similar to that of the powder blushes. I've never seen an orange tinted highlighter in my life, so I'm not sure why there's one included here. 

#1 - gold shimmer*, #2 - pink shimmer*, #3 - orange shimmer 

Before (looking a little tired and red-nosed...also one noteworthy zit and a few minimal blemishes) 

After (Wearing the Sephora Collection All A Glow Contouring Face Palette ONLY- #2 concealer, #2 bronzer, #1 powder blush (pale pink) , #3 cream blush (bright pink), #2 cream highlighter (pink frost) , #2 powder highlighter (pink frost)) 

There's a heck of a lot of product packed in this one wallet-sized palette. Some products were good (concealers, bronzers, cream blushes, both highlighters) but others missed the mark for me (shimmery blushes, orange highlighter). While it's awesome for travel, for the price, I'd rather get a couple individual products with formulas that I am above and beyond excited about. That being said, this will come in handy when I want to do makeup on a friend with a different skin tone from my own, so I truly appreciate the variety. 

What do you think of the All a Glow Contouring Face Palette? 

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Hello Kitty Compact Mirror and Milk Money Makeup Bag // Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary

To the undiscerining eye, the Hello Kitty Ruby Compact Mirror ($59 CAD) and the Hello Kitty Milk Money Makeup Bag ($39 CAD) available at exclusively Sephora may seem grossly overpriced. But there's a few things that you might not know without a little research... 

Hello Kitty Ruby Compact Mirror

What you might not know: This mirror is decked out with 300 hand-placed Swarovski jewels. 

Thoughts: The mirror contains a regular mirror on one side and a handy 3x magnification mirror on the other. Given the daintiness of a collector's item with hand-placed jewels, I feel like it should come with some sort of fabric bag to protect it. It's a little too much bling bling for my personal preferences, it would make a good gift for a Hello Kitty lover.

Hello Kitty Milk Money Makeup Bag

What you might not know: This bag is a larger remake of a 1974 iconic Hello Kitty collectors' coin purse. The remake has similar features to the original - a star clasp and shiny silver casing. 

Thoughts: I'm not a fan of this updated Hello Kitty coin purse. Due to the larger size, the shape is awkward. Yes, one can appreciate the details like the graphics on the inner lining and the star clasp. However, what puts me off the most is that it's made of vinyl. Not exactly the prettiest or most expensive looking fabric for what is supposedly a "collector's item". 

While I can see why the Ruby Compact Mirror would make an amazing gift for a Hello Kitty lover, I think that the Milk Money Makeup Bag is a poorly done remake. Before ordering these online, I'd suggest that you check them out in-store to assess whether or not the quality of these items is up to your standards. 

What do you think of these Hello Kitty Accessories?

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Sephora Formula X Paint Party

The Sephora Formula X Paint Party ($47 CAD, exclusively at Sephora) is a set of 24 travel-friendly press-pods full of Sephora's best cream and pearl nail polishes. Although don't own any of the Formula X polishes, I'm already a huge fan. I always swatch them in-store but I'm extremely indecisive so I never decide on which colour I want. The Paint Party set is a great way for indecisive people like me to get a feel for what colours look best on my fingers. 

The Press Pods come in a paint-can shaped container. I think the packaging is pretty ingenious and I'll be re-purposing it into a makeup brush holder later on. 

The Formula X Press Pods (AHA! I get it now. Ex-press pods!) are meant to be conveniently 1mL sized individual manicures for a little more than one full manicure, each with a built-in brush. Super travel friendly, right? Note that the Press Pods are not quite as easy to use as a full bottle of nail polish. Since they're meant for one-time use, the brush isn't the same quality that you'd get from what you might be used to. It takes a bit of practice. Thank goodness this set comes with instructions and 3 Delete To-Go Polish remover wipes. 

Colours included are... 

• Ignite (smoking red)
• Pyrtotechnic (dynamite red)
• Push the Limits (tomato pink)
• A+ (raspberry)
• Frenetic (deep fuchsia)
• Intensity (powder pink)
• Potent (carnation pink)
• Enigma (lagoon blue)
• Prism (mermaid green pearl)
• Unmistakable (pastel jade)
• Omni (beach ball blue), Orbit (dark sky blue)
• Centigrade (arctic blue)
• Provocative (pastel sky)
• Indelible (rich violet)
• Outrageous (lavender mist)
• Invincible (warm vanilla)
• Thrilling (cloud gray)
• Impeccable (cocoa bisque)
• Perfection (smoky violet)
• Gray Matter (charcoal gray)
• Extraordinary (iceberg gray)
• Dark Matter (patent leather black)
• White Matter (paper white) 

Yep, so there's the awesome opportunity to try 24 polishes without the commitment of entire bottle. Who has ever finished an entire bottle anyways? The one-time use factor is very travel-friendly but it's almost better in theory than in practice if you're not the best at applying nail polish in the first place. Looking at the value of each Press Pod, you're looking at $1.95 per manicure. Given a full-size bottle of Formula X is $13 and 12 mL (and upwards of 30 manicures), you're paying for the convenience and packaging of the Press Pods. That being said, it depends on what you want or who you're buying for. If you'll stick to one colour forever, great...skip this set. But if you're indecisive and want to try new colours all the time, check this one out. 

Have you tried the Formula X Press Pods? 

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Hello Kitty the Red Bow Beauty Diaries // Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary

Holy Moly. Sephora has gone wild with the limited edition Hello Kitty sets. This time around it's The Red Bow Beauty Diaries ($65 CAD, exclusively at Sephora). The set contains 15 exclusive Hello Kitty cosmetics and collectibles. Here's the lowdown... 

The lip products aren't half bad. Both the XOXO Lip Glosses in Toffee Nude and Strawberry Pink are slightly sheer with a subtle shimmer that doesn't feel gritty on the lips. I was almost disappointed with the Plush Pout Lip Balms in Coral Crush and Cherry Red, as I thought that they were lipsticks but they offer a sheer tint of colour without being overly slick, thick or balmy. 

As for the eye makeup, I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do with the Pink Streak Hair Mascara. I'll have to play around with it a bit more. The Pretty in Pearl Eyeshadow Sticks in Hot Cocoa and Champagne Rose are extremely wearable and easy to use. Both are a bit hard to blend but look very pretty worn on the lower lash line and wear for ~5 hrs. The Electric Slide Liquid Liners in Violet and Royal Blue aren't quite as wearable as the eyeshadow sticks but I'm very, very impressed by the opacity of Royal Blue and I'm already thinking of how to incorporate this into a look. 

Let's classify the items above as "other". The All Eyes on Hello Kitty eyeliner appliques are cool but I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to wear them. Maybe next Halloween? The two designs of the All Better Bandages are really useful to throw in the purse. Next time a guy friend gets a cut, I'll be sure to offer him one of those. The Supercute accent nail appliques are graphic and I'll definitely get use out of them. Note that they're the same one of the designs in the Kawaii Nail Art Set. 

Last but not least there's the Milk Money Coin Purse (which is way too small to fit more than a 10 dimes), the Charmmy Hair Tie and a 1974 Figurine. They're all cute little trinkets for a Hello Kitty Collector. 

Overall, there's a TON of variety in this set. The makeup isn't Dior-quality then again, the set is only $65 for 15 things, which is actually reasonable when you think about it. There are definitely some noteworthy items in the Hello Kitty the Red Bow Beauty Diaries - the eyeshadow sticks, all four of the lip products and the adorable little band-aids. 

What do you think of the Red Bow Beauty Diaries?

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Sephora Collection All Access Glam Gold and Silver Eye and Face Palette

The Sephora Collection All Access Glam Gold and Silver Eye and Face Palette ($19, exclusively at Sephora) is yet another one of Sephora's limited edition holiday palettes. This one is a pretty golden package with 8 eyeshadows, 4 blushes, 1 highlighter, and a large mirror. 

The 8 shadows in the palette are divided by warm shades (gold) and cool shades (silver). The colours are a range of mattes, satins, and shimmers, though most of the shades have some sort of sparkle quality. The eyeshadows are hit and miss, a little on the hard side but very little fallout. The lighter shades appear a bit sheer or chalky but the rest of the shades are smooth and pigmented. Overall, they're much better quality than the Sephora VIP Pass Eyeshadow Palette considering the $7 price difference. 

The blushes are nicely pigmented and blend out easily. The second shade from the right is too pale for my light-medium complexion but I'd assume that it look very flattering on girls that are slightly lighter than me. While I like the variety of blushes, I wish there was a little more diversity - perhaps something a little more red or brown toned. All of these seem to lean slightly pink or peach.  

As for the highlighter, it's slightly creamier in texture compared the blushes. It didn't pick up on camera but it adds a shimmery (not glittery) pale golden sheen when applied on the high points cheeks. 

The Gold Look

The Silver Look

All in all, I enjoy the versatility of this palette. With the combination of both well-performing blushes and eyeshadows (PLUS the large mirror), this palette is handy for on-the-go and travel, as you can create a variety of daytime and nighttime looks with just one palette. 

What do you think of the All Access Glam Palette? 

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Hello Kitty Kawaii Nail Art Set // Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary

SO KAWAII~~ ^.^ ... Channel your inner cuteness with the Hello Kitty Kawaii Nail Art Set ($47 CAD, exclusively at Sephora). This kit includes everything you need to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Hello Kitty on your nails. 

Left to Right: Hello Kitty Bow Stamp, 1974 Nail Sticker, Supercute Accent Nail Appliques, Hello Bling! Nail Rhinestones, Tiny Apples Nail Art

This set includes a nail file, a Hello Kitty stamper and stamping plate, 2 Pretty Polishes - for stamping (in Ruby Red and Bright White), 20 x 3D Bling Nail Art Rhinestones, 20 x 3D Bling Tiny Apples, 3 designs of 2 1974 Nail Stickers & 3 Supercute Accent Nail Appliques.

Nail art sets are hard to review. I don't have much to say other than that everything works as expected (the stickers are easy to use and the stamping plate works like any other), there's a lot to work with in this kit and you can create tons of Hello Kitty-themed nail art designs. Use everything together or one piece at a time for a cute accent nail. 

And...Everything is housed in a super cute Hello Kitty tin (I'll probably wash out the tin and use it to store cookies). Overall, this all-inclusive nail art set makes for a great gift for the Hello Kitty lover and/or nail art junkie. 

How do you feel about your nails being decked out in Hello Kitty? I kinda like it!

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Hello Kitty An Apple A Day Trio Lip Balm Set // Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary

An apple a day keeps the doctor away and I couldn't help but Ohhh and Ahhh at the Hello Kitty An Apple A Day Trio Lip Balm Set ($26 CAD, exclusively at Sephora). The three apple-shaped lip balms in the set are way too cute. Case in point, I couldn't help but take tons of photos. 

While the packaging is super cute and even includes a little mirror, it isn't the most hygienic or the best shape for your pocket. Personally, I think that in addition to the product itself, the cute packaging makes up for the awkward dip-your-finger-in-a-pot-of-lip-balm application. 

Red Delicious (candy apple red), Think Pink (hot pink), Natural (Nude)

That being said, the balms are surprisingly bright and liven up dry lips, providing the look of a gloss with the moisture of a balm. The colour sticks around for no longer than a couple hours but they're a joy to reapply because each colour of balm has a corresponding, slightly nostalgic candy scent. Red Delicious smells like apples, Think Pink has a hint of strawberry, and Natural smells of a subtle vanilla. 

Natural

Think Pink

Red Delicious

Overall, this is the most adorable trio of lip balms. Ever. (if these lip balms had cheeks, I would squish them). Sure the packaging may appear juvenile to some but the product inside seriously performs. Thus, a Hello Kitty apple-shaped lip balm keeps the dry lips away. YAY! 

How cute are these Hello Kitty lip balms? 

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