Tag: Beauty

Dupe Alert

Dupe Alert! Becca Ocean Jewels vs. Make Up For Ever Star Lit Palettes

Maritza1 Comment
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I was in Sephora yesterday and happen to catch a glimpse of the new Becca Ocean Jewels palette. It’s gorgeous and soft just like I imagined. I then sashayed on over to the Make Up For Ever display and caught a glimpse of the new Star Lit palette and was hit by an immediate case of deja vu, except that it really wasn’t deja vu, but literally the same colors in different palettes.

I’m telling you right now, you don’t need both. Just pick one and you are good. In fact, I will outline the deciding factors:

We all know that it’s that fresh looking purple shade that is calling your attention on both palettes. If you like your purple cool and shimmery, then opt for the Becca palette. That is a nice true bright violet. If you are wanting a duo chrome, shimmery purple with a black undertone, then go for the Make Up For Ever palette as that one is definitely darker.

If price is the deciding factor, then know that Becca’s Ocean Jewels is $35 and Make Up For Ever is charging $45.

If presentation is your thing, I like the Becca palette more. It’s nice and weighty and it has a really nice, BIG mirror. Seriously, you can see your entire face in it. The Make Up For Ever palette is cardboard and has a nice mirror, but you can’t see your entire face in one go.

I hope this helps and let me know if you plan to pick up any of these.

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

covergirl · Mascara · Nope

Nope! – Covergirl Peacock Flare Mascara

Maritza4 Comments

You ever find a beauty product that you are supremely loyal to? I’m not really talking about loving a brand and buying all or some of their products, but rather a specific item from a specific brand that you always buy? Well, that’s me with mascara.

Last year, I got a sample of Marcelle’s Xtension Plus Curl mascara in a Birchbox and ever since then, I have never found another mascara that compares. It lengthens and curls my lashes to perfection without leaving them clumpy. I have gone through like 4 tubes and even though I have tried various other mascara’s since then, they are always a big fat “Nope”. I don’t even own any other make up from Marcelle except for this mascara and the reason I keep on trying to find a good substitute is because Marcelle isn’t currently sold in any stores and I have to buy my beloved mascara from Birchbox or from directly from their website. Loving something so exclusively means that unless you have back ups, if you happen to lose, misplace or, God forbid it gets discontinued, you are basically up shit’s creek.

I’ll be like Elaine from Seinfeld when her favorite contraceptive sponge got discontinued and she had to ask all the men she was dating if they were “sponge worthy” before agreeing to have sex, except every time I put on make up, I’ll have to decide if today’s event is mascara worthy.

Me: Is the movie we are going to see “mascara worthy”?

Hubs: It’s Justice League

Me: Oh HELL NO! I’ll just wear sunglasses so nobody can see my shame.

So, my search continues for a good replacement and when I was in Target a few weeks back, I came across Covergirl’s Peacock Flare mascara. Immediately, I was drawn in by the packaging. I am a serious sucker for art deco and the feathery blue and black triangle design on the tube, gave me Great Gatsby vibes, so I threw it in the cart without a second thought.

Unfortunately, that is where the love ends. The minute I pulled the brush from the tube, I groaned. It had these short, rubber spikes that are so popular nowadays on mascara, but that I hate with a passion. I often wonder whatever happened to the traditional curved bristle mascara brush. They are definitely going the way of the dinosaur and as a girl with thin, wispy lashes, the rubber spiked wands just turn my lashes all clumpy and creepy Annabelle doll looking, when what I want are feathery curled lashes.

However, I soldier on and begin to apply the mascara. In preparation for the clump, I wiped down the bristles a bit and applied, beginning at the root and doing that little jiggle all the way to the tips. The first swipe, left most of the product at the root, but didn’t give my lashes much volume. So I wait a bit and apply a second layer, but the product is just kind of hanging around at the root and not really going anywhere else. I can’t seem to get it to lengthen.

This is where I find that a bristle brush excels. The fibers of the brush carry the product from room to tip and help make your lashes long, which still providing that volume that you need. The rubber bristles in this mascara are a little too far apart to do the job for me and thus the dreaded clump.

Not judging here though. If you are digging the clumpy lash look, then by all means, go and grab a tube of Peacock Flare. However, if you want more feathery lashes, then don’t be deceived by the bird reference and continue the hunt for your favorite mascara replacement.

Also, if you happen to come across any bristle, curved mascara’s and want to give it a shout out, leave it in the comments below. I will be happy to give it a try to see if it is a good replacement for my beloved Marcelle Xtension Plus Curl.

Till next time, friends.

Maritza

Lipstick · Sale What? · Soap & Glory

Sale What? Soap & Glory’s Sexy Mother Pucker Matte & Gloss Sticks

Maritza2 Comments

Picture this: Sunday night and I have an intense craving for chocolate. Having consumed all the good stuff from my kids Halloween stash and left with only the crap candy, I put on a bra (can we say Cla-Say!) and high tail it to Walgreens in my tights and Captain America t-shirt for some real chocolate.

I mean, let’s face it, Tootsie Roll. You need to decide if you are chocolate or taffy, because you can’t have it both ways.

Anyways, as it has become the custom, I take the long way to the candy aisle through the beauty section. Not much is calling my attention and nothing new seems to have hit the shelves yet, but low and behold, I see a flutter of little orange clearance tags on one of the Soap & Glory shelves and my interest is piqued.

As a fan of their Flake Away scrub, I love Soap & Glory’s bath items, but I have to admit that I’m not very familiar with their make up, so I was happy to see that it was their Sexy Mother Puckers Matte Lips and Gloss Sticks that were on sale. I find that Soap & Glory products to be a little higher than your average drugstore products and very rarely do I see a sale on makeup so I’m not usually very incentivized to buy. Also, although these lippies seem to have been around for a while, I had no idea they existed and was excited to put them to the test.

I picked up a beautiful Matte Shade called Chocoberry. It’s a lovely mauve pink color that applies creamy, but dries down to a powdery, velvet finish. It actually reminds me a lot of the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils in texture and finish, but it glides on way smoother as the applicator has a wider, flat tip and doesn’t tug quite as much on the lips as the Nars pencils do.

In an attempt to venture past my usual red lips, I was intrigued by the Gloss Stick in Purple Rain. For those of you that love a good vampy lip, don’t be fooled by the color of the stick, it’s actually quite a sheer berry colored gloss, which is nice if you are beginning to dip your foot into the darker shades, but leaves you feeling swindled, especially if you were expecting something special named after one of the most iconic songs from the 80’s.

I’m sorry, Prince. It’s not worthy of your talent.

However, the Gloss Sticks did manage to redeem themselves with Pink Punch. A vibrant hot pink that glides on easily and does indeed pack a nice upper cut. Unlike the glosses you typically find in a tube, these feel more like a balm and although don’t have megawatt shine, do add a nice glossy finish that I found to last through coffee and an hour long conference call at work.

Normally priced at $6, they were on sale for $3.89 in store and I am not sure if they are being discontinued or maybe making room for new colors, but you can still find them at Walgreens.com, ($4.79 online), so make sure you head on over and snag one.

Anyone else find any sale items in their local drugstores? If so, comment down below.

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

boscia · Sephora Rewards

Sephora Rewards Review – Boscia Skincare for Your Selfie Kit

Maritza2 Comments

For the longest time, every time I used to go to Sephora and the lady behind the counter would ask me if I would like to redeem any of my points, I would always say no.

Why you may ask?

I have not the slightest idea. I think subconsciously I was waiting for that day that Sephora would decide to convert all your points into dollars, thus allowing me to go on the most EPIC shopping spree of all time!

Anyways, seeing as that day isn’t coming any day this millennia, I have been actually choosing to redeem my points, which I may add, always seems to take the Sephora cashiers aback. They always give me this “For Reals?” look when I say that “Yes, I do want the deluxe sized Tory Burch Love Relentlessly perfume sample.” So I must not be the only one waiting for Sephora to turn points into cash.

However, the last time I was in store, I was feeling frisky and decided to break the bank and select the Boscia Skincare for Your Selfie 500 point reward. As a fan of the Boscia Makeup Melter, I was kind of hoping to snag one of those in the box, but no such luck, they didn’t include it.

Nonetheless, the kit did include samples of the following:

Detoxifying Black Cleanser – right off the bat the first thing I noticed was that this cleanser has a warming sensation when you rub it on your face. It doesn’t last very long and I’m not really sure what the purpose of that is, but it was COOL (in a warm sensation kind of way). The cleanser is black and silky and although it did a good job in removing all my makeup, it left my face a bit tight. I definitely prefer the Makeup Melter Balm because it leaves my face nice and supple.

Charcoal Pore Pudding Mask – made with both Black and White Charcoal, the mask is supposed to minimize the look of pores and leave your skin balanced. It does have a pudding like consistency and applies like BUTTAH! Since we are dipping into a fro-yo like swirl of black and white gooeyness, it goes on gray on your skin and takes about 20 minutes to dry. Once you wash off, your skin is nice and clean, although, once again, a bit tight.

Luminizing Black Mask – a peel off mask that, unlike those black masks that had people screaming in pain when they peeled them off a few months back, is quite painless and that is mostly because no matter how many layers of this stuff I put on, I was never able to get a good strip to peel. It was always bits and pieces, which frustrated the crap out of me and made me just wash off the majority instead of picking at it. However, it left my face really nice and glowy and when I applied my makeup, made for a great skin day.

Revitalizing Black Hydration Gel – a cooling gel moisturizer that I will right away say that was just “MEH”. I just can’t get behind a gel moisturizer because it just felt like I was applying that aloe vera stuff you put on when you get a sunburn. It was tacky to the touch, which I suppose would be good if you are going to apply foundation afterwards, but it never felt moisturizing.

Perfecting White Charcoal Mattifying Treatment Primer –  Now this stuff is the shiz-net! It’s milky white and has a slight gel like consistency that leaves your face tacky to the touch. It minimized my pores, helped my foundation go on smooth and left me looking way less oily than I usually do when I use Benefit Porefessional. When I combined this with the Luminizing Black Mask, I felt like a Victoria’s Secret Angel.

All the products had that similar herbal like scent that I found very fresh and different. It wasn’t overpowering and didn’t linger, which I also like.

Would I purchase the full size of any of these? Yes! For sure the Luminizing Black Mask and Mattifying Primer. The others are debatable. They weren’t horrible, but just not to my liking. However, it’s nice to come to that decision without having to actually drop some cash on it.

Moral of the story: USE YOUR SEPHORA POINTS!

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Drugstore Finds · NYX · Uncategorized

Sale What?? Nyx Butter Gloss Mini Haul

Maritza1 Comment

I was in Walgreens last week and, as usual, began to peruse the beauty aisle. Not that I was planning on buying makeup, as to be honest, I was just there for cat litter, but there is no harm in looking, right?

However, as I get to the Nyx display, all thoughts of cat litter go away because I see that they have some of the Butter Glosses on clearance. I love the Nyx Butter Glosses. Not only do they smell like vanilla cupcakes, but they are glossy without being goopy and are long wear. They are fairly pigmented enough to wear alone, but if your not into a semi-sheer glossy look, you can layer them over a matte or cream lipstick for that punch of color.

Sidenote: if you want a really pigmented glossy lipstick that’s under $10, try the Hard Candy WetEver line. You will not be disappointed!

It seemed like all the red and wine colored Butter Glosses were on clearance and I was like, “Umm….is this a mistake?” because I think red lips are  the quintessential holiday look and if I was Walgreen’s, I’d be putting all of them on the top of the display instead of all the way on the bottom where no one looks. Whatever, their loss is my gain. For $2.49 a piece, I snagged three winter ready colors:

Strawberry Jam – a orange reddish glossy shade that makes you want to believe that it’s a summer color with a name like that, but it’s actually the perfect red to wear with a dramatic wing liner and a cocktail dress to a holiday party.

Cranberry Biscotti – a berry toned beauty that you can wear day or night. I personally like a dramatic lip with a light eye look and this color is would look great with a pop of cheek color, mascara and bold eyebrows.

Red Wine Truffle – the big sister to Cranberry Biscotti. Just a tad bit deeper and not so pink. This is what I would pair with a smokey eye and a black pencil skirt. Add a fitted turtleneck and you have a perfect workday outfit

Strawberry Jam
Cranberry Biscotti
Red Wine Truffle

The link to Walgreen’s has all these listed for $3.99 each, but try to hit up your local Walgreens and you might be able to get them cheaper.

I was so excited about my sale finds, I almost forgot the cat litter, but I happened to pass the Covergirl display with all of Katy Perry’s lipsticks, which were not on sale, and I was like “Oh Snap! Cat litter!”

I’ll let you decide if it’s Katy’s love of felines or her actual lipstick line that made me remember cat poop.

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

BH Cosmetics · Friday Finds

Friday Finds – Elf, Becca, BH Cosmetics & More

Maritza2 Comments

I love the holidays! With so many brands out there competing with eachother, the sales are starting early. My inbox has been taking a beating with all the brands advertising their sales and products and, for once, I’m not all that upset with extra email traffic. In case you missed my Sephora VIB post, I mentioned that you can typically get better deals if you buy straight from the brand vs, Sephora, well this week, I am loving the deals.

Move over VIB sale! You’ve got some competition.

From 11/10 – 11/14, e.l.f. will be having a 50% site wide sale. Time to stock up on some faves, do a little early Holiday shopping or just splurge! It’s elf! You won’t feel bad about spending a few bucks because it’s all so affordable. I personally LOVE  their Velvet Matte Lipsticks. I kid you not, these are pigmented and comfortable to wear. I wouldn’t necessarily call them matte, but for $1.50 on sale, you can call them whatever you want!

If you want to take advantage of the sale you can click link above and use code CELEBRATE. You will be accessing my affiliate code, which means I do get a little something if you shop using that link, but if you don’t want to, that’s ok! Just log onto elfcosmetics.com and use the same code.

Now this one really got me all wound up, because I know my friend Karla was eyeing this baby the other day. Until supplies last, Becca is offering the Limited Editions Apres Ski Glow Collection Eye Palette for $29. Considering that the regular price is $45, that’s a better savings that getting it during the Sephora VIB sale. As of Thursday, 11/9, when I wrote this post, they still had them online, so run and grab one!

BH Cosmetics has moved up their Black Friday sale and is giving us 40% off almost everything on their website. Time to start checking off people from your holiday list, because that includes some of my all time favorites, such as the Supernova and Solar Flare palettes, which are going for $9.59 each. These are some of the most gorgeous baked shadows I own and I use them from casual everyday looks to nighttime party looks.

Some other worthy mentions are:

ColourPop – 20% off when you spend $40 or more till 11/10. This includes their Holiday Collection

Groupon – 25% off using code WOW25. Groupon never fails me. From yoga classes to yoga pants that I will never where to a yoga class, you can find practically anything.

Wet n’ Wild – no actual sale going in, but you have to check out their boxed holiday gift collections. From $5 – $29.99, there is something for any beauty lover. Might I add that if you have a tween or teen, like I do, these would be great stocking stuffers.

If you got any promos that you want to share, drop the link in the comments sections below. I love shopping and spending money I don’t have on makeup I don’t need. 🙂

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Sephora VIB Sale

What’s in My Cart? Sephora VIB Sale

Maritza2 Comments

Ahh… Fall! Cool weather, pumpkin spice lattes, football and the Sephora Semi Annual VIB Sale. I live for this stuff. Not that I don’t buy makeup and other beauty products year round, but I’m saving 20% during this time of year.

Ok. Let’s pause for a second. I will be the first to admit that Sephora has literally bewitched us all with this “sale”. Under no other circumstances would I ever get excited about saving 20%. In fact, I wouldn’t even typically buy anything if they were only offering me 20%. I’d be like, “No thanks, bitches! Call me when these shoes are at least 40% off!”

And if I’m really going to be honest, we typically can get better sales or more consistent savings at the very least if we buy our beauty products from the brand vs. Sephora. For example, in October

  • Too Faced had 30% off plus free shipping.
  • Becca was offering 50% off their poured creme highlighters
  • Boscia was offering 15-20% off select products.

In fact, they offer these types of promotions multiple times throughout the year (if I causally look at my inbox, I would even say it’s monthly) and I hardly ever take advantage. I always say to myself that I will wait for the Sephora VIB Sale. Why?

Brainwashed and bewitched. That’s why. That little striped black and white bag is like crack cocaine. I can’t say no!

Anyways, this year, I’m actually taking advantage and will stock up on some favorites, like Anastasia’s DipBrow Pomade, Boscia’s Charcoal Makeup Melter Cleansing Oil Balm and the Sake Brightening Hydrogel Mask. I’m pretty much scrapping the bottom of the jars on those.

I’m also taking advantage of the whopping 20% off to try out some new stuff, so I’m getting the Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment and Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Cream Mini. Both of these are top rated, so I want to see if the hype of real.

I will also pick up a Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye Crayon in Cocoa and Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Aquaconcealer in Fair Light. These are my splurges as I don’t need a new eyeliner or concealer, but they were calling me.

I’m such a sucker!!!

I know this is not a very interesting cart, but I’m pretty happy. It can’t always be eyeshadow palettes and lipsticks!!

Who am I kidding? If I am going to be honest, I am 99% sure I will also add the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette to the cart. Not that I need it, but I want it!!

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Maybelline

Maybelline City Chic Mini Palette – Smokey Eye Look

Maritza2 Comments

Anyone out there a little hesitant to work with dark colors?

(Raises hand sheepishly)

I’m going to admit that I tend to stay away from dark colors. You see, I’m not a make up artist and I believe it takes a certain amount of talent and hand eye coordination Wait! Scratch that. It’s not like we are playing volleyball. Or are we? Regardless, I possess neither to create a good smokey eye. Every time I attempt to create a dark eye it ends looking really muddy and kind of like I just didn’t get a good nights sleep.

That doesn’t mean I don’t like to try, so when I saw that the Maybelline City Mini palettes were on sale this week at Target for $7.99, I decided to give these puppies a try. I could have opted for a warm neutral one, but I was feeling adventurous! So when I saw this tiny palette with rich blue, purple and silver shades, I was like “Why not?”

I am going to admit that I decided to give this palette a whirl on a really random Wednesday when I had nothing planned and wasn’t actually leaving the house just so I wouldn’t have to commit to this look when I actually had to socialize with people, but don’t hold that against me. I’m working on my confidence.

I decided to start with the taupe-y color in the middle and apply that on the crease and just a little above. After blending that in, I dipped into that royal purple shade and added that to the crease and the outer V. It’s not particularly dark upon application, but it is buildable. My one concern was that after building it, the purple looked more black than purple.

I then picked up the silver glittery shade and tapped that onto the center of the lid with my finger and worked it to the inner corner. It was lovely and vibrant, but Holy Fallout, Batman! I looked like I cried glitter! It’s ok, nothing that a little swipe (or two) of a powder brush couldn’t fix.

I did decide that the outer V needed just a tad bit of definition, so I got a pencil brush and applied a bit of the black shade and blended it up to get a slight cat eye. I then dipped into the blue and smoked the lower lash and then with the same pencil brush I used with the black, deepened the outer lower lash a bit and dragged that up a bit to connect help shape the “ cat eye” a bit.

Overall I was pleased with my work and I didn’t look like Edward Scissorhands!

Score!!

Also, what do you guys think of my natural hair? Trying to learn to love my curls, but there is an insane amount of mousse up in that birds nest to tame the frizz.

Thank goodness we have been having cooler days and humidity has been low. I need all the help from Mother Nature I can get.

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Beauty Favorites · Uncategorized

Something Old, Something New….

Maritza3 Comments

Something Blue?

I was chatting with my friend Karla the other day about makeup. She is that friend who totally gets your obsession with makeup and would never, EVER, make you feel bad for having too many nude lipsticks. In fact, she would try to convince you that you do indeed need both MAC X Nicki Minaj nude lipsticks because one is a pinky nude, while the other clearly has a peach based undertone.

Like…DUH! They are obviously two very different colors.

As we were talking, I found myself hardcore selling her on two of my favorite products:  my beloved Boscia Charcoal Makeup Melter and the newest edition to my ever growing eyeshadow collection, the Too Faced Just Peachy Matte palette. Both products are top shelf for me, although I will admit that if I had to pick just one, Boscia would win. However, we would then have a Chicken vs. Egg situation because technically would I even need the Makeup Melter if I didn’t have any makeup in the first place?

I think this would even keep Aristotle up at night.

Something Old

Boscia Charcoal Makeup Melter is the BOMB! I cannot put it any other way. I got a sample from Sephora a while back and the first time I used it I was so completely blown away, I immediately purchased a full size jar.

You apply it to your dry face and massage it in for a bit. Then just when you have worked up a bit of a sweat, you wash it away with some water. I kid you not, this stuff washes away waterproof mascara. It’s more of a balm than a cleanser, so it leaves your skin soft and supple. If I had one complaint, it would be that it does leave a slightly filmy residue on your bathroom sink, so I recommend wiping it down with a towel when you are done.

Something New

I am going to admit that I initially purchased Too Faced Just Peachy Mattes palette out of loyalty. I am a huge fan of the Sweet Peach palette. The colors are playful, yet earthy and bring out my green eyes like no tomorrow, so when I heard that Too Faced was going to add an all Matte palette to their Peach line, I was all in. However, as we started getting sneak peeks, I started thinking I was just going to waste my money. I’m sure there were going to be dupes of the same colors from the Sweet Peach palette. In fact, when I first got an in person glimpse and swatched Peach Sangria, the one color I was most intrigued by, I was slightly disappointed. It was patchy and not quite as vibrant as expected.

But as it happened, I came a across a Sephora gift card I got from Ebates a while back and seeing that nothing else was calling my name at the store, I decided to purchase the Just Peachy mattes as a partner to my Sweet Peach.

Truth be told, I was quite judgmental at first. It was smaller and not made of that same tin material the SP is made of. I didn’t even use for a few days, but when I finally caved, I have to admit I became a convert. There is such a lovely range of light to dark mattes, that I was able to easily create an eye look without dipping into the SP palette. The colors blended really well with a brush and even though Peach Sangria is still not all that to me, it works well enough. Hey, 1 mediocre color out of 12? Not too shabby in my book.

Something Blue

Ok. I will admit I don’t have anything blue. I’ve never been able to master blue eyeshadow and blue lipstick is just not my thing. I can’t even get into blue nail polish seeing as I have been a straight up French manicure girl since I was a teen.

However, I hate to disappoint, so I leave you with this.

That always cracks me up!!

Till next time, my friends!

Maritza

Beauty Review · Burberry Beauty

Burberry Beauty Bite Sized Review

Maritza2 Comments

Disclaimer: this post was written on my phone as I have no power due to Hurricane Irma. Please excuse any typos.

I don’t really know too much about Burberry Beauty. In fact, the only things I know about the brand is that they are known for their trench coats and beautiful patterned and plaid scarves. Also, once when I went to New York with one of my friends she was prepared to pay $900 for a Burberry clutch in a gorgeous plum color until she saw the look of horror on my face and then told the salesperson she would think about it.

Don’t worry. I’m sure she ended up buying it without me present.

So when I was surfing the Sephora site and came upon a special promo for a Burberry Beauty Box, I decided to hit purchase. Luckily, it was only $35 and the hit to my wallet was negligible.

When I first got the box, I was surprised by how tiny it was. It was bite sized!! Maybe I am delusional, but somehow I thought it would be bigger (that’s was she said..ha, ha!!!).

Nonetheless, it came with 4 items:

  • Burberry Kisses Lipstick in Russet No. 93
  • Light Glow Dark Earthy Blush No. 11
  • Fresh Glow Nude Radiance Luminous Fluid Base
  • Burberry Cat Lashes in Jet Black No. 1

I’ve been playing around with these items for a few weeks, off and on, and I must say that the verdict is still out on Burberry Beauty for me.

Let’s start off with the item I most liked, the mascara. Those of you who have seen my older posts, know that I love feathery curled lashes. When I first saw this wand, I was a bit skeptical. It’s flexible, which means that the slightest pressure with your hand can jab the wand into your eye. However, the mascara is lovely. It lifts and separates your lashes. Gives them a nice bouncy curl and no visible clumps anywhere. My only gripe would be the bristles. They are made of spikey rubber and if you are not careful, they can sting.

My next favorite is the “blush”. Honestly, I’m not sure what the hell this is. It says it’s a blush. Looks like contour or maybe bronzer. However, I use it as eyeshadow. It’s a beautiful tan shade, similar to their traditional trench coat, that I’ve used as a transition shade with other palettes, but also on its own. I particularly love using it to smoke out the lower lid. It makes my green eyes pop!

Falling short on the love list is the lipstick. The shade is a lovely terra-cotta color, but it’s just too damn sheer. It just gives you this wash of color that does nothing for me. I mean, if I am personally going to wear anything red, you better see me from space. Know what I mean?

Last, and for good reason, is the Luminous Base. As a girl with oily skin, I tend to stay away from primers that make me glow, because genetically I’m like a greasy lit Christmas tree, so this stuff just made my foundation slip and slide all over the place. No thank you! I’ll stick to my Benefit Porefessional.

I must say that overall, the price tag for all these full sized items individually is not that bad. Ranging anywhere from $30 – $48, I’ve paid more for less and I do have to admit that the packaging is absolutely gorgeous. All the items have the signature Burberry plaid woven through the packaging and even stamped into the actual side of the lipstick. Nothing can look fancier than touching up your lipstick after dinner with one of those tubes.

However, it’s the actual colors and products that failed to impress me. I suppose Burberry can be categorized as a brand that sells that posh, minimalist look, but if that’s not your thing, then I say skip.

Till next time, my friends.

Maritza