Allure's Best of Beauty 2009

Hi pretties! I was just reading the newest issue of Allure Magazine and saw that they had announced the Best of Beauty products of 2009. Every year Allure Magazine comes out with a "Best of Beauty" list of the products that they claim are the best out there. I'm sure some of you have already seen this list but for the ones who didn't I wanted to share it with you.

EYES

eye shadow

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner
Black Radiance Starry Eyes Shadow Stick
Chanel Ombre Essentialle Soft Touch Eyeshadow
Lorac Eyeshadow
Nars Cream Eyeshadow
Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow
Shiseido Makeup Luminizing Satin Eye
Sonia Kashuk Eye Shadow Quad

makeup remover

Almay Eye Makeup Remover Pads

eyeliner

Elizabeth Arden Smoky Eyes Powder Pencil
L'Oreal Paris HIP Eyeliner
L'Oreal Paris Lineur Intense Liquid Eyeliner
Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes
Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil
all over palette

Sephora Collector's Edition Palette

mascara

Cover Girl Lash Blast
Maybelline Collosal Mascara
Maybelline Define-A-Lash Mascara

Stuff I have tried:
Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadows - These are great and come in so many variety of colors. They are good to use as an eyeshadow base and are very similar to mac paint pots.
Almay Make Up Remover Pads - I know a lot of people love this but for me it's just okay and doesn't really remove the really hard to remove mascaras like the Japanese kind.
CG Lash Blast - I love the rubber brush on this mascara it makes application so easy. It definitely gives me a lot of volume but not too much length, but overall a really good mascara.


LIPS

lipstick

Cover Girl Queen Collection Vibrant Hues Shine Lipstick
Dior Addict Lip Color
Lancome L'Absolu Rouge Advanced Lipcolor
L'Oreal Paris Riche Lipcolour
MAC Lustre LIpstick
Shiseido Makeup Perfect Rouge Lipstick
Yves Saint Laurent Gloss Volupte Gloss
Revlon ColorStay Soft and Smooth Lipcolor

Stuff I have tried:

MAC Lustre Lipstick - I love all MAC lipsticks in general but Lustre is definitely one of my favorite finishes because the formula is not drying like the matte kind.
Revlon Colorstay - These lipsticks are super smooth and buttery. My favorite color is baby peach.

BLUSH

Bobbi Brown Blush
Lancome Color Design Blush

highlighter

Jemma Kidd Makeup School Dewy Glow

bronzer

Estee Launder Bronze Goddess Soft Duo
concealer

DuWop CircleBlock Dark Circle Concealer
Murad Acne Treatment Concealer

powder

Black Opal Invisible Oil Blocking Powder
L'Oreal Paris True Match Powder
Make Up Forever HD Microfinish Powder

foundation

Chanel Pro Lumiere
Giorgio Armani Silk UV
i.d. BareMinerals Foundation
Laura Mercier Oil Free Foundation

tinted moisturizer

Shiseido Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20

primer

Smashbox Phto Finish Foundation Primer Oil Free

Stuff I have tried:

I can't believe I barely have tried anything at all from this list!
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess - This is a great bronzer, it doesn't give you a weird color or makes you look all orange. It has a nice hint of shimmer that gives you a natural radiant glow. Too bad I don't use bronzer too much because i'm already tan as it is! lol

Bobbi Brown Blush - no I don't own this!! but I want it really bad now :)

The list also includes body, nails, skin, cheap thrills, best splurges, natural wonders, and guy stuff! Here's the link to the page (http://www.allure.com/beauty/bestof) if you want to see more products. They also have pictures, pricing, and info on where you can buy these items! I would list them all but this would be a super duper long post.

What products have you guys tried from this list? Did they work and are they worth the buy?


Til next time...toodles!

Hauls: makeup.com, beautyticket and other randomness

Hi beauties! I hope everyone is having a good day/night. I'm just sitting at home right now watching re-runs of Sex and the City. Some packages from my past hauling adventures came in yesterday and today so I thought I would share with you the damage I've done to my wallet :)


Smashbox Starlight Whitening Toning Lotion

Description:
Starlight Whitening lotion contains Arbutin Complex which softens and minimizes imperfections caused by sun damage and aging. Also reduces the appearance of fine lines and age spots.

I saw this baby randomly while browsing Ebay and could not resist but to get it. It sounded promising and I've been wanting to try some form of whitening. The Smashbox Starlight line was not launched in the US and to my knowledge is only available in Asia. The other items in this line include Starlight Whitening Moisturizer, and Starlight Photofinish Primer. I was also tempted to get them both but figured I would give this a try first before I splurge on the whole set.

Initial Thoughts: I've only had this for 2 days so I can't do a real review on it yet, but so far so good. This feels like any regular toner out there but is not harsh and doesn't have any stinging sensation. My face felt nice after applying this. This is suppose to be used morning and night. Although this is kind of early I did notice my face looking much lighter and brighter than usual so i'm liking this so far.

Makeup.com Haul

Makeup.com is having a 50% sale so I couldn't resist but to snag some goodies that I've been wanting to try! The sale is still going on right now if you guys want to check it out. They have a bunch of well known brands and mostly everything is half off, definitely a steal!

Juice Beauty Green Apple Mousse Body Cleanser + Green Apple Extra Firming Body Moisturizer

I've been wanting to try stuff from Juice Beauty for awhile now. Their products are organic and all natural and are free of :

- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Synthetic Dyes
- Petro-Chemicals
- Phthalates

It's what you put on your skin so using more natural products can only add benefits.

Green Apple Mousse Body Cleanser
What it is:
A skin-nurturing body wash.

What it is formulated to do:
Powerful hydroxy-acids from organic apple and lemon juice help exfoliate skin, while organic plant extracts remove toxins and protect against free radical damage. The result is perfectly clean skin that is refined and glowing, from head to toe.

Initial Thoughts: So far I really like this cleanser. The product comes out foamy and smells nice. It's really easy to lather it on all over your body and it left my skin feeling clean and soft. I didn't irritate my skin or left it feeling dry.

Juice Beauty Green Apple Extra Firming Body Lotion

This luxurious body moisturizer combines a brightening complex of organic Apple, Lemon, and Grape juices, nutrient-rich essential fatty acids and age-defying Alpha Lipoic Acid, co-enzyme Q10, Vitamin C, peptides and DMAE to replenish, nourish and firm skin from head to toe.

Benefits:

• Exfoliates and improves tone and texture
• Soothes and replenishes skin
• Enhances elasticity and helps to firm, lift and tighten
• Contains powerful rejuvenating antioxidants

Initial Thoughts: The lotion felt nice and non greasy. It absorbed fairly quick and I do notice that my skin felt smoother and more firm but of course I've only used it once so i'll have to see how it does later.

Juice Beauty Organics To Go Kit

This kit was perfect since I wanted to try a lot of products by Juice Beauty!

It came with:

• Cleansing Milk 2 oz - milky and light that felt really nice on the skin, did not tingle or irritate and left my skin feeling clean
• Green Apple Peel Sensitive Try Me size - mini review below
• Antioxidant Serum .17 oz - this absorbed really well into my skin but too early to tell if it has done anything
• Hydrating Mist 1 oz - this mist was ok, doesn't really have a pleasant scent and just felt like a regular face mist
• oil-free Moisturizer .5 oz- was light and absorbed into the skin well but wasn't enough moisture for me so I had to apply a different moisturizer on top after applying this

Green Apple Peel

Initial Thoughts: The directions said to use this only once a week. I tried this out last night and I have to say I love this stuff! This is my first time using peels, the most i've done to my face is used facial scrubs.

The product is a clear creamy green paste that is lightly scented with no strong smells. You are suppose to leave this on for 10 minutes and then wash it off. This felt nice on my face and I started to feel it tighntened up a little bit after 5 minutes into it. There was a mild tingling sensation towards the end but it stated on the box that it was normal to feel that. After 10 minutes I washed my face and noticed a smoother more radiant skin! I was so surprised by the results. My skin felt smooth and clear as a baby's butt. I'm definitely going to continue doing this every week and if it still works the same I am going to invest in a full size.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to try out peels or microdermabrasion products. This is for sensitive skin so it's great for beginners but if you have a more problematic skin you should probably try the normal strength green apple peel.

Beauty Ticket Haul

I was trying not to buy so much but got an email from Beauty Ticket that they were selling Anna Sui items! These were really cheap so I had to get it, plus they are offering 15% orders over $20 or more at the moment.

There is also a 48 hr sale on all their YSL products (extra 20%) off but I decided to pass on that for now.

Anna Sui DX Volume Mascara and Eyeliner in Black

The packaging is so cute!

Wow the eyeliner tip is super thin! I hope it's easy to use.

I also got a China Glaze nail polish in Devotion to make the $20 mark to get the 15% off! I think this is going to be my next nail color.

Randomness

I managed to get my hands on another MAC blush through a swap! This is the MAC blush in Foolish Me. The color is a peachy coral shade and is soooo pretty. It looks really cute and flattering on my cheeks. I think I can officially say my hobby is collectiong blushes!

New booties!

I got these from Target and I absolutely love them. They are perfect for fall and are super comfy. I love high heeled boots but I think I look better in flat booties :)

They work well with any outfits (jeans or dresses), but my favorite thing to pair them up with is some skinny jeans, a shirt, and a cardigan on top (it's been getting kind of cold lately).

Til next time...toodles!

Tagged: Dinner Party + Award

Hi pretties! I was tagged by the fabulous Lisa (Shopnchomp) to invite you all over for a virtual dinner party. I'm not too good at hosting stuff because I get so frazzled and disorganized but I will try my best so enjoy!

The question is: If you were going to allow us to spend a night at your home, we'd like to know the following:

1. What books are on your favorite shelf?
I'm not an avid reader but i'll go through a book phase where I would do nothing but read. I was addicted to the Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella so you can find the whole Shopaholic Series on my shelf. I also got into a Tudors phase after watching the series Tudors on showtime so I ended up getting The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool and The Boleyn Inheritance. I also have random books I purchased from the thrift store (Bridget Jones Diary, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, Snowflower and the Secret Fan, Shoe Addicts Anonymous, Never Let Me Go, and some other randoms I can't think of at the moment).

2. What DVDs are on your favorite shelf?
I'm not a big DVD purchaser (my money goes elsewhere..*ahem* beauty stuff) so I don't have a very impressive collection. The few that I actually own are I Love Lucy DVD series, Sex and the City The Movie, A Tale of Two Sisters (korean horror movie), Romeo and Juliet, and Frida. If this doesn't tickle your fancy there's always Netflix or Blockbuster!

3. What are your two favorite cookbooks?
Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals, and Tapas.

4. Select 1-3 recipes you will cook for your special guests.
Appetizer: Bacon wrapped figs
Salad: Tomato cucumber and feta salad with balsamic dressing
Entree: Hazlenut crusted Trout
Dessert: Red devil cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!



5. What will we be drinking that's available?
Water, Sparkling water, Pomengranate Ice Tea, Mango Ice Tea
Alcohol : Midori Martinis (I love melon flavor liqueur)

So hope you guys enjoyed your stay over! Now it's my turn to be your guest:

Kelly (Popcorn)
Fuyumini
Kalai
Anastacia
Catherine
Karen (Sizbelle)
Diane (Orange2LA)
Lane (BlovetBeauty)
Blair
Kym
Rhain
Eugenia
Pop Champagne
Zoe
mrsdumpling
Kay

I was also given this Hottest Female Blogger Award from Kelly (http://popcorn3148.blogspot.com/). She's has the cutest blog so please go check her out. Thank you!

So, here are the rules:

1.Don't change the banner award. The signature, colour or the text
2. post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and her blog link.

3.Choose 10 female blogger that you know and have never received this Award

Passing this on to the following hot, hot, hot bloggers!

1. Kalmo
2.Shopnchomp
3.Nicola
4.BlovetBeauty
5.Blair
6. Miss Kyou
7. Friendz Century
8. Zoe
9. Anastacia
10. Kay

Just got some packages in today. Stay tuned for more haul posts coming up! x__x

Til next time...toodles!

Jill Stuart Blush vs. Castledew Diacut Cheeks

Hi everyone! Hope you guys are having a good day. Today I'm going to be comparing the Jill Stuart Mixed Compact Blush to

The Castledew Diacut Cheeks! This review is actually for Karen (Sizbelle) since she was curious about what I think of both

blushes since they have similar concepts (both being blushes with a variety of colors that you can mix and match)

Both have very pretty packaging! Jill Stuart blushes are around $50-60 while Castledew blushes are only around $20-30. You definitely get much more product with Castledew.

This is the JS blush on my cheeks. I mixed the 2 bottom pinks together. I'm definitely in love with JS blushes. The texture is super smooth and nice, plus it looks really natural on my cheeks. The only bad thing is that they are a bit pricey and is not readily available everywhere. In my opinion it is definitely worth the Splurge! I definitely want to get more in other colors in the future.

This is the Castledew blush on my cheeks. I used the 3 pink toned colors on the first column. The texture is not as fine as the JS blushes and it takes a few swipes to get any color out. I'm not too fond of shimmery blushes unless i'm going out at night. It definitely isn't very flattering to my skin and accentuates my pores and bumps. I think this is a good highlighter on top of a blush more than something to wear alone. I think this blush is okay but probably would not be looking to purchase more.

Verina requested a swatch of this so here it is! The colors look like it would be cute as eyeshadows.

Today felt like summer again so I decided to whip out my favorite summer dress! I love the details on this dress.

It's super comfy and can be worn casually or dressy with some accessories and heels. There's my kitty in the background lol

That's all for today time to go watch the season premiere of Dexter!

Til next time...toodles!

EOTD - My Dazzling Day with JS Dazzling Moon

Hello beauties! Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend. Mine has been going well so far and today I found the time to play with my new Jill Stuart Illuminance Eyes in Dazzling Moon. This is the first JS eyeshadow palette I own and I have to say it didn't disappoint. The shadows are very sparkley and nicely pigmented. The only complaint that I have is that I feel that the colors on this palette might be too glittery for day time and is more suitable for an evening night out. So this palette is great but definitely not a go to every day palette.

- I applied the light blue e/s (next to the silver e/s) all over my lids passing the crease by a little

- Then I applied the blue e/s on top but not going pass the crease

- Then applied the darkest blue e/s along the crease

- I used the silver e/s to highlight my brow bone

- I then used the blue e/s and lined my lower lash line

- Curled my lashes, applied mascara, lined my eyes with a black eyeliner

This is how everything looked at the end. I was really happy the way it came out. I hardly wear blue toned eye shadows. I feel that it makes me look a bit more mature. But like I said this is definitely more of a night look than a day look for me.

I also stopped by Target today and was able to check out the Anna Sui collection. I ended up getting this grey shirt with a fringe scarf detail along the neck line.

I'm loving this shirt! It's very comfy and I love the fringe detail.

Decided to play dress up and paired with some black skinny jeans and a pearl necklace.

I'm all dressed up with no where to go!!

Peas out....

Have a lovely day everyone!

Til next time...toodles!

Swap with Sizbelle - Jill Stuart and My Beauty Diary

Hi everyone! This week for me so far has been filled with awesome packages!! I know I'm not suppose to be spending money but a lot of the stuff are from a swap that has been going on since August. So i'm not really spending money at the moment :) Most swaps that I have done were started a few months back and have slowly been arriving this month.

Swap Story

This initially did not start off as a swap. Karen (http://sizbelle.blogspot.com/) who lives in Singapore had planned to take a trip to Hong Kong in the beginning of September and had generously offered to pick up some make up stuff for me. Me being the Shop-aholic that I am did not refuse this offer! My main goal was to get some Jill Stuart items since they were readily available in HK. I was planning to pay her the cost of the goods through paypal but then soon discovered that she also wanted some items from here (mostly stuff from Sephora). So that's how our swap began! We both came up with a list of stuff that we wanted and tried our best to stay within the same budget.

Through out this process I got to communicate and get to know Karen much better. She is such a sweet and cute person that has the same deadly addiction as me (buying beauty products!). I received my swap package from her yesterday. The shipping was super fast, it only took less than a week to get to me. Unfortunately I have not sent out her package yet because I am still waiting for a few items to come for it to be complete. I am hoping to receive everything by next week and ship it out asap!! Sorry for the wait Karen :(

Please visit her blog to see her awesome haul from HK! She definitely got more goodies than what I ordered from her.

The Package

I was so excited when I got her package in the mail! It came nicely sealed and packed in a box.

Stuff I ordered:

I requested a variety box of My Beauty Diary Masks. I've been wanting to try these masks since they are super popular amongst fellow bloggers. She couldn't find the actual variety box so she ended up just throwing in a mixture of different types of masks. The variety included Pearl Powder, Black Pearl, Provence Lavender, Mixed Berry, Japanese Cherry Blossom, Q10 Rejuvenating, and eye masks. She also gave me some extra masks from Taiwan that she says she uses every other day. I can't wait to try all these!

Now on to the the Jill Stuart goodies *drool* haha She gave me some cute JS bags and this gorgeous floral design box!!! She said it was a free gift that came with all the products.

The box is absolutely beautiful and is really high quality. It's also really roomy too.

My first ever Jill Stuart items! *yay* I ended up ordering 2 mix blushes (being the addict that I am), 1 eyeshadow palette, 1 eyelash curler, and 1 lipstick.

Mixed blushes in Little Bouquet and Lovely Tulip.

I adore both blushes equally! What I love about these blushes is the different color variations you can do with these. You can use each color individually, mix them all together, or just choose to mix and match 2 or 3 colors according to your liking. It's basically like getting 4-5 blushes in 1 compact! The white shade in Lovely Tulip is also perfect for highlighting. The texture is so smooth and so easy to blend. There is a slight hint of shimmer that's just enough to give you a cute glow but not too much to make you look unnatural. I can already tell that this is going to be my new favorite blushes. The packaging is just too cute for words and it comes with a retractable blush brush.

I was trying out the blush and I used Little Bouquet and mixed the red color on the bottom with the pink color on the top. It gave me super cute berry stained cheeks!

I got the Jill Stuart Illuminance Eyes in Dazzling Moon. I decided on this palette because I don't own many blue eye shadows. It was a very tough decision for me and I pretty much changed my mind like 3-4 times because I wanted them all! Thank you Karen for being so patient with me.

The colors are amazing, I can't wait to do some EOTD's with these.

I also couldn't resist but the the Jill Stuart Eyelash curler. The main reason I wanted this was because of the cute little rhinestone dangle on the bottom! Aside from being cute it also works amazingly well. It curls wonderfully and fits my eye shape perfectly.

I decided to try their lipstick. At first I ordered the gloss but of course changed my mind again! The packaging is just to die for. I feel so glam just whipping this out of my bag. The color I got is called Rosy Coral. It's a cute sheer rose pink color with subtle shimmers.

This color is great for every day wear and is one of those "my lips but better" lipsticks. The texture is also smooth and very moisturizing. I want more JS lipsticks!

This is how roomy the JS box is, it fits almost all the goodies except for the e/s palette.

The Extras!!

Karen was kind enough to include some extra goodies. I could not stop myself from smiling when I discovered them all.

Nail protectors - these looked a little weird at first but are actually really comfortable and protect you from messing up your freshly applied nail polish * genius!*

Handmade Eyelashes from Taiwan - I haven't tried these yet but they look great in the box.

L'egere BB Powder Aqua Shiny Pearl - the box says it's sweat proof and water proof so I can't wait to try this!

L'egere Mineral Blush Powder - she knows how much I love blushes!

...more lashes, make up sponge, eyelash adhesive, bling bling accessory, hello kitty gloss, skII eye mask, and the infamous fringe holder (how did she know I really wanted this?)

Beautymaker Pore Concealer - I never heard of this product before but it sounds good.

Beautymaker Cheek and Lip Tint - i'm very curious to see how this works.

A surprise package

Just when I thought I couldn't be happier I got another separate surprise package from Karen! She felt bad that her package was going to be bigger and heavier than mine because she ended up adding more items so she got me something extra.

She got meVOV Castledew Diacut Cheek (9 colors). Karen knows me so well, I have been wanting this for awhile! This palette has a similar concept to the JS mix blushes where you can mix and match or use the colors individually. I will have to try this out and definitely do a comparison. VOV Castledew's packaging is also very similar to JS items but for the fraction of the price!

Karen took the time to leave me little post it notes to explain some of the items! How creative and cute.

Last but not least I got a package from the lovely Nicola (Spoiled Rotten)! I told her how I couldn't find Bonnebell's Glimmer Bronzer that was highly raved by Holly Ann anywhere in LA so she offered to send me one for free!! Thanks so much Nic, I appreciate this so much and you are an absolute sweetheart which I think most blogger girls are! Every one that I have met on here so far have been nothing but kind and generous.

She included a lovely card along with a Bonnebell lipgloss and a cute cellphone lip gloss charm!

ok *phew!* that is all for the packages today, now I have a room full of boxes filled with products that need my love and attention! I definitely will have to set aside a day to spend some time with my new babies lol

Til next time....toodles!