Review and Swatches: Yves Saint Laurent Gloss Volupte in 209 Smoking

IT EXISTS. I've been looking for this EVERYWHERE. I could've just bitten the bullet and paid to ship it, but there is something so rewarding about finding your cosmetics in the store somewhere. Like finding a magical unicorn.

This is the new YSL Gloss Volupte in 209 Smoking. It's gorgeous. And shiny. And black. It's meant to go over other colors to add dimension and deepen the color. I fell in love with the applicator, it's shaped like a little pair of lips. And, as always, the packaging is gorgeous.

As you can see, in some lights and directly applied, the gloss comes off as a shimmery deep purple. Which is gorgeous. So I'm not complaining.

However, in less direct light, it does go on a pretty deep black. It seems to sheer out extremely well, so I'm thinking that it will be pretty easy to control the amount of pigmentation that this gloss delivers. I'm thinking that it will look particularly gorgeous over a lavender lip color, mainly due to the purple undertones. Swatches of that to come!

There are other colors I want to try! Those that have some of the Gloss Volupte glosses, which ones should I try?

xoxo,

Gabrielle

Milani Matte Blushes Swatches and Review

I have been on a matte kick recently, between lip colors, eye colors, and blushes. However, matte blushes seem to be hard to find nowadays, with the craze surrounding NARS Orgasm and all its glittery glory. I was about to buy a Tarte Amazonian Clay blush when I heard about these bad boys. I went to 4 stores and finally found them! Introducing Milani Baked Blush in Delizioso Pink and Bella Rosa.

Delizioso Pink on left, Bella Rosa on the right.

They come with a little brush under the color, but I found that I much prefer my stippling and blush brushes.

Here are the swatches! Delizioso Pink is a gorgeous, cool-toned pink. It blends out wonderfully. Bella Rosa is a red-toned color, and though it's harder to blend, it creates such a nice flushed look. They are both so soft and pigmented, this is one swipe! These were about $8.50 USD at CVS.

until next time! ciao bellas :)

xoxo,

Gabrielle

My Strange Asian Supermarket Haul

In a small corner of my city that I rarely ever find myself in, there stands an Asian supermarket. If you blink, you could miss it, but it's rather large, and filled with goodies like Asian pastries, cute tea sets, and most importantly--cosmetics. On a whim, I picked up these two items. One is a set of masks from My Beauty Diary, and the other is an Extra Pearl Cream.

This set contains seven masks. They are: hyaluronic acid, red wine, bird's nest, black pearl, arbutin, collagen, and aloe. Each mask has a different purpose, and is beneficial in some way. I tried the bird's nest mask last night and it was lovely. It smelled fresh, and moisturized my face so nicely. I rubbed the leftover serum into my arms and chest and my skin feels so soft today! I paid around $10 USD for the set, and I will definitely rebuy. More reviews on these masks to come!

The second product I picked up is this Beanne Extra Pearl Cream. I had no idea what this was for, but luckily it came with instructions!

These didn't really help much. But I have gathered that it is to be used on the face. In the instructions it says it can be used as a foundation, but that makes me apprehensive. I don't think it would be a good look on me.

The first thing I noticed is that they weren't lying when they said "pearl". This is PACKED with pearlescent particles and shimmer. It goes on very opaque and very light, and blends out easily. It has an overwhelming smell of baby powder. Like, it does not go away. I put some on my face and I could smell it all day, whether I was lounging around or walking to class. I would be hesitant to use it as a foundation because of the shimmer and strong smell, but I love it as a highlighter.

Here's my bonus candy haul from the international supermarket here! Aka things I can't get here in the U.S. 

As always, leave comments and requests!

xoxo,

Gabrielle

OCC Lip Tar in Black Metal Dahlia: Swatches and Review

Let me just say that I have been lusting after this lip tar forever! My Sephora doesn't carry this shade, so I've been waiting until I put in an online order to snag it. I put it on right away when I got it, and fell in love immediately. It's described as a "blackened burgundy with red pearl." I can see that; however, it appears more of a deep, shimmery red overall. 

Here are some swatches of this lip tar. It goes on gorgeously, although you have to be patient. It feathers quite a bit, so a clear lip liner would be advised. I couldn't stop looking at it though! It would be perfect for a holiday look.

xoxo,

Gabrielle

Sephora Haul and Swatches

So I spent entirely too much at Sephora this week. I decided I might as well get some swatches out of it :)

I won't lie, I bought this palette for the sole reason that it was Limited Edition and it had a sugar skull on the front. However, I do love Kat Von D's brand, and knew it wouldn't let me down.

The palette consists of 8 shadows, one of which is considered to be a "Transforming" shade. I still haven't determined how to use it after reading countless blog reviews of this palette. 

The colors are gorgeous. From left to right: Selena is a glittery purple. This shade is gorgeous, it almost has a duochrome effect. Dayglo is an iridescent white shade, and is also a "transformer" shade. Apparently you can layer it over the other shadows to create a different dimensional look. Galore is a shimmery peach-toned shade. Placebo is a super matte almost Pepto-Bismol pink. I can't wait to do something with it. Santeria is a grey with greenish glitter in it, it would be super cool to do a smokey eye with it. Archangel is a seafoam green color with shimmer, it was hard to build up. South is a matte beige, which of course I love. Finally, Dog Roses is a super shimmery bronze. I am probably most excited about this color. All of these are shown over NYX Matte Jumbo Pencil in Milk.

I also picked up this Beauty Blogger Darlings set. I've heard so many good things about everything in this set, so I figured why not try them? And for only $20 too! It includes the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, Too Faced Primed and Poreless, Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, and Too Faced Shadow Insurance. 

I could not resist these. If you've never used a Boscia mask, GO NOW AND GET THEM. They are amazing. I have skin that tends toward the dry side, and they have all still worked wonderfully for me. The blue one is a calming mask, and I have found that it actually keeps my skin nice and moisturized. The black is a luminizing mask. It goes on BLACK. I found that it made my skin very smooth and glowy after using it only once! The white is a brightening mask. Again, it's supposed to take multiple uses to notice a difference, but I noticed a brighter and more even skin tone after only one use. These are all peel-off masks, and I can't recommend them highly enough to you.

As always, leave comments below!

xoxo,

Gabrielle

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Lime Crime Swatches and Review!

First of all, can we talk about how cute this packaging is? I like purple, and I like unicorns, and I like sparkles. Literally the best of all worlds. It feels durable too, like it won't crack from rolling around at the bottom of my purse.

First is Chinchilla. This is a creamy, pigmented lavender-grey that goes pretty easily onto lips. My lips are somewhat pigmented, so I had to swipe it a few times to build color. However, it's a gorgeous color.

Next up is Mint to Be. This was the easiest to apply, and it is this gorgeous minty green color. Perfectly on trend with all of the pastels this season! Maybe I'll wear it for St. Patrick's Day.

Third is No She Didn't. I LOVE this color. It's the perfect blue, and it goes on so easily. It's extremely pigmented, and I actually really like the shade with my skin tone. 

Next was the Velvetine that I ordered. This is Red Velvet. As you can see in the swatch picture, it goes on very glossy. It has a pretty watery texture, not sticky like a gloss. It dries matte and a gorgeous blue-red. It's absolutely perfect. And let me tell you, THIS DOES NOT BUDGE. It took 2 makeup wipes to get it completely off of my lips.

This is the Carousel Gloss in Snowsicle. As you can see, my lips are stained from doing everything else first. It's a pretty, blue-toned clear gloss with a ton of glitter in it. It'll look so pretty layered over some of the other colors.

Finally, we have the Carousel Gloss in Hollygram. This is a super-pigmented emerald green with metallic shimmer. I love this color!! The gloss was a little sticky, but I think that comes with anything that pigmented. It went on the lips really streaky for me, but I think a coat of lipstick or liner under that will take care of that.

Overall, I was VERY impressed with these products from Lime Crime. I can't wait to make another order and try some more of their products!

xoxo,

Gabrielle

FOTD: Monday, February 3

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Quick Post: Sephora & Lime Crime Haul

The Lime Crime box is so effing cute. Ugh. This is going to be a quick post, but I took pictures of all of the products I received this weekend. Hopefully when work and school die down I'll be able to swatch them all for you properly. 

I got 3 of the Opaque Lipsticks from Lime Crime, in Chinchilla, Mint to Be, and No She Didn't. I got a Velvetine in Red Velvet, and two Carousel Glosses in Hollygram and Snowsicle. This is my first Lime Crime purchase, so I can't wait to try them out!

From Sephora, I got the Kat Von D Esperanza palette. This was a total impulse buy. I have this thing for sugar skulls. I can't wait to see what the shadows are like, though! I picked up the Beauty Blogger Darlings from Too Faced, which are supposed to be awesome. The Boscia face masks are a favorite of mine, so I am stoked to have the three of them! And I FINALLY grabbed the OCC Lip Tar in Metal Black Dahlia. I've been lusting after it FOREVER.

I'm still waiting on my order from Roseroseshop, which I'm dying for. Hopefully I'll get swatches of all of this up tomorrow!

xoxo,

Gabrielle