Tarte on HauteLook

Hello everybody!

Tarte will be on HauteLook tomorrow (Wednesday 11/19). The item will go up at 8 pacific standard time or 11 eastern standard time. For those of you who have never been on HauteLook, you must me a member to get access to these deals. To sign up for free, click here. HauteLook typically offers individual products or tiny sets at a discounted price (not like the QVC Today's Special Value which is a big set). But beware, once the product is gone it's gone.

Here's the link to the actual products: http://www.hautelook.com/event/42076

Nail of the Day: Ciate Paint Pot in Vintage

Hello everyone!

I did my nails yesterday, so I wanted to show them to you and talk a little about Ciate.

The polish above is a Ciate Paint Pot in Vintage. I bought this as a mini in last years Mini Mani Month at Sephora. However, Sephora does not sell this color. To get this color, shop here at Nordstrom to get this color.

These nail polishes are three-free (or do not have formaldehyde, DBP, and toluene).

The color is a darker off gray, leaning a tiny bit toward green in my opinion. As for application, I used a strengthening nail base coat, followed with two coats of polish, and then topped it off with a top coat. Normally I say use thin coats, but this polish applied better when just wiping one side of the brush while it being removed.

Verdict: I wish Sephora carried more colors of these guys. The $15 price tag may seem expensive, but one bottle that can be used so many times is the price of one manicure. If your into a DIY price but a professional look, these are great!

Review: bareMinerals Lash Domination Mascara

Hi everyone!

Really quickly before I start my review, bareMinerals is giving out one free loose powder eyeshadow (your choice of color) to anyone who goes to a boutique today (Thursday November 7) or tomorrow (Friday November 8). You do not have to make a purchase, but you do have to present a special email which I have. Email me at innysc@gmail.com if you are interested and I can foreward you the email needed to get this amazing deal.

Here's my first review on a relatively new product. BareMinerals released this product in June 9, 2013. Like most products, it makes some hefty promises. Does it live up to the expectations it sets for itself?

This product claims to be a thickening, volumizing, high drama mascara. It's unique brush (see below) is a curious innovation.

There are many positives to this mascara.  Natural mascaras tend to be on the drier side, which causes flaking. This mascara can be described as more of a wet product. This may not work if you have super fine lashes and want a lot of curl, but I feel the wetness is a good thing. This product will last and not dry out before it's three months are up.

This mascara is hands down my favorite bareMinerals mascara. The other ones don't really do anything for my short, thin sparse lashes. I prefer more dramatic mascaras, so imagine how I felt when I heard bareMinerals was coming out with a "high drama" mascara. This mascara looks much better on my lashes then their Flawless Definition ones. The color is definitely super black. The balance between volumizing and legthening is pretty perfect for my lashes (comparable look to Tartes Lights, Camera, Flashes! Statement Mascara which I will review tomorrow). I can build it up to a beautiful point.

The only real downside to me was the smudging. I definitely had some raccoon-esqe smudging under my eyes. I know bareMinerals sells a waterproof topcoat for it, but I try to avoid waterproof because it's kind of rough on my lashes. After cleaning up the smudging about an hour or so after application, I had no more smudging issues.

Another slight inconvenience is that the new spiral brush, as awesome as it looks, is pretty terrible at doing lower lashes. It's not a big deal, but just a little heads up.

Verdict: Four stars out of five, taking a star off for the smudging

Shop this product!

Packaging

How it looks on my lashes after 8 hours of wear
    *I did use a curler this morning before applying.

The brush and its cool spiral design

Product Reviews?

If you said earlier that you bought some of the products, why haven't you posted any reviews? some people might be thinking.

I did buy the products that I claimed to, and they are sitting next to me as I type, but I haven't exactly opened the boxes yet. I went a little crazy on the new holiday collections for birthday and holiday gifts for myself, but I am restraining myself from opening them until my birthday or the holidays. Its a rough battle, but I'll survive.

You would be surprised how much I'm dying inside to not be able to open them.

Gift Idea: Sephora Favorites

Say what? Most of the products above are not natural! So why are they on my blog, you might ask?

Each one has one or two natural products (Josie Maran Coconut Water Cheek Gelee, sorta the Sephora Collection Falsies, Origins Eye Cream, Josie Maran Argan Oil, Bite Pencil, bareMinerals Lipstick, and Tarte Lipstick) that I plan on taking out of the set for myself.

The other items I will break up and gift to my friend throughout the year. These sets are always the best deals Sephora has on bulk items all year, so I stock up during the holidays. It's so nice not scrambling trying to figure out what to get friends and family members during the year. Really, do you think anytime else in the year you could get 16 lippies (4 full-sized!) for $60?

Shop here!

Ciate Mini Mani Month at Sephora

I was so excited for this year's Ciate Mini Mani Month ($58). I bought last year's and I loved it. Their formula took a bit to figure out how to apply, but once I got a hang of it this stuff would last forever! I could go two weeks with minimal, minor chips (with a base coat, two coats of polish, and a top coat). Last year's colors were so varied and included summer, spring, fall, and winter colors. Some colors were staples, others were trends. I could easily say that purchase was five stars, even though I didn't use any of their Caviar polishes (I could tell they wouldn't work for me as much as I use my hands).

This year's product is different. Looking at the picture, so many colors look exactly the same. I don't know if they were intended to be used for an ombre effect or what, but when I look at those they look exactly the same. Blah! Also, this years set has a bunch more effects, which I'm not a fan of. I can't get used to the idea of shaking straight up glitter onto wet nail polish. I applaud Ciate for yet again being trailblazers of nail trends, but I can't get the image of a little kid playing sprinkling glitter on glue for an art project (and making a mess) out of my head.

Verdict: I still love Ciate and would definately purchase a future set from them, but I think I will be skipping on this year's Mini Mani Month.

Feel free to comment if you've bought any of the sets I've mentioned and disagree with my opinion :) or anything else you would like to say/tell/ask me

Tarte TSV Bow and Go November 18th

Hi guys!

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that QVC will be airing a Tarte Today's Special Value on November 18th. They call it "Tarte Bow and Go" because it is packaged in three beautiful boxes for gifting and even comes with an actual bow. It will cost $49.98 on paper, but with tax and shipping (which I'm kinda mad I have to pay for because every other company I've bought online from like Sephora, Tarte, bareMinerals, and Amazon has a deal where you pay $X and you get free shipping) comes to around $62.

There are videos on Youtube showing/swatching the colors (I love prettydaysies and curlywavydiane). I just want to discuss what I think of the kit.

There are three parts to the kit, and all the products are full sized.

The first pink box on top has four Lipsurgence lip cremes. They do not sell these individually, but I  guess they might start to sell them soon (within the next year?). I don't know this for sure, but I'm making a guess based on what Tarte has done with other products. If they did sell them individually, they would probably be $24 like all the other Lipsurgence products, so this part is worth like $96.

The second box has two chubby SmolderEYES pencils in Brown and Fig. Both of these colors are in the regular line, so I can say for sure that they are each worth $22. One is a matte brown and the other is a shimmery rosey purple. It also has two Light, Camera, Lashes! mascara, each worth $19. This box is worth $82.

The third and final box includes 16 eyeshadows. I would try to estimate the worth of this one, but its kinda priceless. The shades are pretty evenly distributes between light highlights, medium lid colors, and darker shades for the crease and outer-V. The shades lean toward natural colors, with a few pops of green, purple, and pink.

The Verdict: I bought it. It really is a phenomenal value. If you even just like one of the boxes, individually any of them are easily worth the $62 price tag, and you can gift the other two with the handy included bow if you like. I know already that I will give the Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara to my mom because its her holy grail mascara.