VIB Rouge, now what?

It's official, I'm a beauty addict... At least that's what Sephora seems to have diagnosed me with. Since the VIB 20% off sale, I knew I was a couple dollars short of becoming VIB Rouge, so basically one small purchase boosted my 'status' up. I received this welcome package which included the welcome card, a new Sephora VIB card as well as the Bite Beauty crème lipstick in VIB rouge. 

Such a big box with so little inside!

I looked on the Sephora website and it seems this colour is exclusively to VIB Rouge members. Such a shame, since it is a quite lovely red. 

Are you certified beauty addict? What was the purchase that put you over? Mine was the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder palette. 

Dior Addict Gift Set Sephora 500 VIB points perk

I was deeply sadden when I missed this perk last year, so I was extremely happy to see it reappear right around Sephora's VIB 20% sale. I finally got my hands on this with just enough points! I think I have officially been spending too much money at Sephora :| Onto the Dior Addict Gift Set!

This pretty white box was in a clear plastic bag sealed with a label that had the product name and ingredient listing.

Here's the list of products in case the picture is hard to read:

• Dior Addict Eau Sensuelle Eau de Toilette (5ml)
• Dior Addict Lipstick in Dior Kiss 578 (1.4g)
• Dior Addict Bracelet

The bracelet this year is actually different from the pink ribbon one from last year. It is a silvertoned bracelet with lots of different charms attached to it. 

I was surprised at how much I liked this bracelet. At first I wasn't sure if it was going to fit me since most bracelet goes on too big. But wrapping this around my wrist three times and hooking it onto the smallest setting made it work~ Such a delicate, yet playful accessory~

If you are collector and have enough points, you should really check this one out!

Sephora VIB birthday gift 2013

I picked up a week before my birthday the Sephora's VIB birthday gift, which consist of two Benefit Cosmetic products: 

• They're Real! mascara - Benefit's 'breakthrough bestseller' 
• Watt's Up - a champagne coloured highlighter with a cream to powder finish that is suppose to give you that extra 'wow' factor

Like previous year's Fresh Sugar minis, this year's gift came in a pretty box with brief descriptions about each product.

Mini rant: I'm not extremely crazy about getting samples of mascara because I'm very overstocked of them. Also, this has to be my third sample of They're Real! mascara that I've accumulated in my stash... I know this seems to be a very coveted items, but do they have to include it in every sample box? /endrant

With all the ranting, I have to say that I am quite excited about the Watt's Up since it is small, portable and well cute. I was almost going to use it this morning, but I realized I haven't taken a picture of it before I use it... so yeah... I'll get there ^_^

Bobbi-to-Go Sephora 500 VIB points perk

Good things come in small packages :) I could barely contain my excitement when I found out that Sephora had this awesome little Bobbi Brown to go kit for grabs! I checked my points twice to make sure I qualified and was ecstatic when I got my hands on it.  

It contains almost everything you need on the go:

• 4 lovely neutral eyeshadows (Bone, Heather Mauve, Saddle, Mahogany) first impressions: Bone was a colour that blended into my lid colour, Heather Mauve is as gorgeous in the pan as it is on the lid and Mahogany was an nice warm brown. Did not get to try Saddle yet. All the eyeshadows were very buttery!
• blush (Pale Pink) - first impression: for such a bright colour in the pan, this blush was surprisingly wearable, and I was able to apply it with my fingers, though would prefer using a brush.
• Intensifying Long-Wear Mascara - first impression: what a tiny brush! However, it is able to getevery single lash from root to the very ends. Does not clump and separates lashes very well, but see minimal lengthening or volumizing. Lashes still feel soft with mascara on.
• eye cream, lovely addition to any eye cream addict's collection - first impression: performance of product was neutral, did not find it exceptionally hydrating.

 Ingredient listings for those who are curious:

So overall, I'm super happy with this, and am looking forward to carrying this around with me.

Beauty Haul from Atlanta

Remember July's no-buy? Well, it was so that I can shop to my hearts' content when I travelled to Atlanta early August, and this was my damage / splurge on make up products. 

At CCO, I picked up MAC's Veronica's Blush. I swatched it at the store and really liked it but decided against buying it because I wanted to think it over. The next day I went back and purchased it.

On the day I purchased the MAC blush, I visited an Ulta store for the first time and ended up with some RT brushes that I had not seen in Tdot (or when I did, it was not at the the price I wanted to pay.) I was so glad that they had both blush and powder brushes. At checkout, I also picked up this cute Bare Mineral Ready touch up veil in translucent, I thought that it would be awesome for on the go and it came with a tiny brush and clear makeup bag.

My last stop was at Sephora. Even though I have an overwhelming amount of eyeshadow palettes, I decided I needed to have the Urban Decay Naked Basic after hearing quite a few YT gurus raving about it. Alas, I now have all three UD Naked palettes.. Suckered~ I hope I won't regret it, as I have yet to test it out. I have my doubts that it would be able to replace the Naked 1 palette.  

My next two products, were the only products on my to-buy list. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder in Diffused Light and its powder brush. I enjoyed Dim Light so much that I wanted to try the rest of the lighting powder, Diffused Light was the next on my to try list. I've tried it and to be honest, am not liking it as much as Dim Light. I will continue testing out with various foundations and see if I will come to like the result, will update!

Dim Light (barely made a dent and have been using it almost everyday for the past 2 months) and Diffused Light

I did surprisingly less damage than expected, but I think it is partly due to the fact that I did not encounter any Chanel counters, else the Les Beiges powder, the Tan de Soleil bronzer and the CC cream would put me way over... Perhaps I can continue lemming over them and keep the money in my pocket a little longer~

Sephora Haul from VIB 15% off sale

Like most shopoholic, I find it a struggle to not invest in a good deal, especially since I've moved to a different area, with a different mall to shop at. The Sephora there is also bigger with more brand selection, such as shu uemura :)

I did not walk in with shu in mind, and I was actually not tempted to buy anything until I spotted the shu uemura section on my way out. After seeing Stylish&literate's post here I kind of convinced myself I should check them out. I did and this was my damage:

2 shu uemura blushes one in M soft coral (345) and M soft pink (336) these babies swatched so nicely, and has great pigmentation. If these are anything like their eyeshadows, then I'm sure the lasting powers will be awesome! Can't wait to try them out :)

The VIB tote and samples were nothing special, I only got 7 packet samples, but I did manage to claim my 100 point perk for the Stila Convertible Color in Peony. :) Ahh my blush craze phase~~ XD

Did you go crazy with your shopping this week?!

Sephora Favourites: Give me some lip 2012

I purchased this lip sampler set a while back and finally got around to trying them all out.

Laura Mercier Lip Glacé in Baby Doll - pretty decent wear, it lasted 3+ hours after some tea and coffee. I thought this was pretty impressive for a lipgloss. I am surprised that this product has a light sweet scent that is barely noticeable. This is awesome since it doesn't clash with other lip products I use under it :) I also like the colour of the gloss as it has just a hint of pink with some shimmer. Subtle, but very cute. The product is very thick and I think its applicator is perfect for it simply because I prefer dotting some products on and let my lips do the rest. I don't like 'brushing' on lipglosses because I feel like I have less control on how much product I use and I don't like wiping the products on the edge of the tube, it's too messy looking. Hmm... I know I sound like I'm praising this product, but I just don't have a bad things to say about it yet... I might find something... but for now, I'm loving this :)

Tarte LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Tint in Hope - I really wanted to try this product out, but I saw beeswax as an ingredient for the Tarte Lip Tint and hesitated... So I was glad that when I checked this specific colour and I found out that it did not contain beeswax :) Happy! The colour is very lovely and natural. It is a matte warm pink that is great for work and is beautiful under the LM lip glacé. It has a minty scent which I am not crazy about, but it goes away after some time. On its own the product is very drying, so I need to apply a balm before using it. This product lasts a very long time and does stain your lips.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Sugar Rosé - Love the colour, love the fresh citrus scent. Even though this had beeswax, it did not cause my lips to peel, then again, I do apply either a layer of Vaseline or LM lip silk under it. I wonder if it might have cause a barrier to prevent a reaction? In any case, I've used it a few times and I like the lovely flushed looking lips I saw. It's nice that Sephora gave this out as a birthday present last year and that I managed to grab a set.

Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Child - This is a sheer gloss, with little to no pigmentation. I've applied this gloss over nude lipsticks and it didn't really make a difference. However, when applied over a matte lipstick or lip stain, this product gives the lip a very lovely slight gloss finish and I want to say makes the colour look a lot more 3D. This product is scented, reminding me of Garden cookies (from HK.) I like the non-sticky feeling of this gloss, as well as the application of the product. The applicator is also something that I quite enjoy, it is a flat brush with a flexible/bendable tip/sponge. I enjoy using this product more now that I use it on top of a more dry matte lipstick that is not nude.

Sephora Collection Glossy Gloss in Precious Pink - I won't be reviewing this product, since I am giving it away. This is described as a very sheer pink with an iridescent shimmer. I have used the Sephora gloss before and thought they were ok. This colour looks pretty enough in the packaging.

Bite Beauty Lip Shine in Vintage - I'm on the fence about trying this one. I haven't been too curious about this brand since its products contain beeswax, and I don't really want to fall in love with products that I know I shouldn't. It is described as a sheer mauve. Please let me know if you've tried this product and if it's worth me risking the lip issue. Thanks!

Swatches:

With Flash from left to right: Laura Mercier Lip Glacé in Baby Doll, Tarte LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Tint in Hope, Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Sugar Rosé, Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Child and Bite Beauty Lip Shine in Vintage.

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Guess what I got in my email today...

VIB-only shopping event this weekend, starting on Thursday~ :) 

Current Unii Palette: Filled with Stila shadows~

Ever since I depotted the Stila Pro Artist Palette, I've also depotted some of my sample Lancome palettes as well as some mini Sephora single eyeshadows~ Here's how my current Unii's look~

Colors in my Stila palettes are: Wheat, Puppy, Eden and Rain

Colors in white Unii palettes are: 14 kt, Wisteria, Terracotta, Prussian(MAC), Tone, Coco, Expresso and Smashbox brow tech depotted

Colors in teal Unii palettes are: Stila's Prize, Sparkle, Kitten, Grand, Lucky, Moxie, Lancome's Honeymoon, Starry, Platinium, Rose Ancien, Praline, Aubergine and Sephora's Midnight Kiss, Aspen Summit, Engagement Ring, Made in Manhattan, Swimming Pool, Sweet Candy

Mini Sephora Haul... just so I can get the VIB gift~

Pathetic? I know... and the sad part is, the Benefit Cosmetics The POREfessional that I was looking forward to was substituted with Sephora's Anti-Shine Foundation Primer :|

Here is my impulse purchase:

I purchased two products, Laura Mercier's Tinted moisturizer in Nude and a Clinique brush-on cream liner in Black Honey. The rest were samples... VIB gift and 100-point-perk Algenist cream

Being a VIB (or simply put makeup shopaholic) has its perk, mainly detrimental to your wallet tho... for this VIB gift I needed to spend $35 at Sephora. I got 8 'deluxe' sample size products plus this shiny makeup bag~ Surprisingly, it does not make the plastic noise I thought it might :)

List of samples:

• Stella McCartney - Stella
• Smashbox - Oil-free primer
• Sephora Collection Instant Moisturizer
• Sephora Anti-Shine Foundation Primer
• Murad Intensive-C Radiance Peel
• L'Occitane Shea Hand Cream
• Algenist Overnight Restorative Cream
• Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara

I didn't swatch the TM *** , but I did try out the cream liner. I was pleasantly surprised by it's lasting power! I have oily lids so I figured it would just be a hot mess after 30 minutes... It lasted all day! Black honey is a warm brown with small glitter in them. This brown is lovely on the eyes, and makes the eye look bigger without the harshness of black.

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It did surprisingly well when I tried smudging it... and it only budged when I rubbed it really hard...

*** I had to return the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer because my face started breaking out every time I used it. I think I should try to stick to oil-free products for the most part... I guess I still have oily skin despite of my dry patches~

Tokidoki Gelato Lip Balm Stain in Mozzerella

nude lips

lipbalm on the right, clearly showing more healthy colour and shine

my lips but better? :)

This is a lovely lipstain/balm that was surprisingly moisturizing for my usually dry lips, did not cause a reaction and had great lasting power, but the colour I got did not 'stain' my lips as it does come off if wiped with tissues. It provided lovely pigmented lips that looks so natural my fiance kissed me before realizing I had something on my lips. As you can see from the pictures, my natural lip colour as of late has been very light, so this lip product was awesome. It gave me a 'my lips but better' look! :) I've read reviews that some people thought the smell was awful, but Mozzerella did not have the plastic scent that I found in the clear one~ In any case, these are worth checking out considering they are currently cheaper than some drugstore lipstain/balm~ 

Overall Rating **** / 5 (1 = worst 5 = best)  

Price **/5 (1 = soooo cheap! 5 = pricey!) Regular at $10? it's not $3 on Sephora website

Packaging Quality ****/5 (1 = worst 5 = best) very cute! I love the clear cap with the cute designs on it

Scent? Sweet, fruity 

Would you buy this product again? Yes, I'm thinking backup, especially since Sephora will no longer carry them~

Tokidoki products are going buh-bye at Sephora so everything Tokidoki was marked down to 40%, and now on the website there is a further discount. Hurry to your local Sephora for them if you get a chance!

Seduced by NARS~

Nope... no self-control what-so-ever. Got the VIB gift from Nars email and I instantly knew I will be making a trip to Sephora... Death trap... seriously... 

To get the Nars goodies... you had to make a purchase of at least $35... So I got the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour blush in Exposed and a Sephora trio eyeshadow/highlighter.

Here's the pretty bag...

... with a neat little intro card...

and the Nars goodies!

Inside the cute pouch was a mini Nars bronzing powder in Laguna, liquid illuminator in Orgasm and a smudge proof eyeshadow base. I wanted to try the bronzer but I didn't want to get the full size because I am still learning to contour properly... I also figured that if I give up on contouring I can use it as an e/s ;)