REVIEW! | Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette for Spring 2011

I have been very anxiously awaiting the release of this fun and lovely Spring 2011 palette by Urban Decay (henceforth referred to as UD)! UD makes GREAT palettes in general, but this one in particular appealed to me because it contains 3 neutral shadows and a brown liner, so it works for everyday wear, and the hot pink shadow practically screamed good times (with party hats and streamers)!

All 4 powder shadows apply like a dream; they have a creamy smooth application and crazy good color concentration. I literally touched the brush to Darkhorse and it picked up enough pigment to do both eyes. Verve makes a great highlighter! I really can't emphasize enough how perfectly these shadows applied. Also, I got absolutely loco and used the Woodstock shadow as a blush; it worked fabulously! The Whiskey eyeliner was also a winner; it glided on perfectly smooth in 1 swipe. I normally have to make numerous runs with other eyeliner pencils to get a nice, even coat. It applied like a gel with the precision of a pencil and it lasted all day without budging. The only thing I'm not super wild for is the Crush lip gloss; it's mint flavored/scented and it's a touch on the sticky side. The hot pink color looks mind-rockingly bold in the tube, but it thins out to a very well-behaved pink once it's on your lips. It's a pretty color, but I'm not ultra jazzled by any mint-flavored lip products. I'd rather they be completely flavorless as it greatly reduces the urge to lick your lips, therefore leading to H.R.S. (Habitual Reapplication Syndrome)! Sometimes I do like fruity or sweet flavored lip balm/gloss, but I've never been big on mint.

I decided to follow the guru Christine's tutorial on Temptalia to create an eye look using this palette. Big thank you to Christine for writing it up; it was easy to follow and I was very happy with the snazzy results! I started with Laura Mercier Mineral Primer on my face and Urban Decay Primer Potion in Greed as my eyeshadow base; the look below lasted ALL DAY LONG with ZERO smudging, melting, or fading. I love UD!

Thanks also to Emily S. for buying me my first ever UD palette for my 26th birthday!

Woodstock (eyeshadow): Warm Shimmering Fuchsia
Verve (eyeshadow): Pale Oyster Shimmer
Suspect (eyeshadow): Light Coppery Brown Shimmer {Previously featured in the UD Book of Shadows Palette}
Darkhorse (eyeshadow): Deep Neutral Brown Shimmer {Previously featured in the UD Naked Palette}
Whiskey (eyeliner pencil): True Brown Matte
Crush (lip gloss): Punchy Fuchsia Gel with Gold Microglitter

Color Payoff: 10/10
Endurance: 10/10
Packaging: 10/10
Scent/Taste: 7/10
OVERALL: 10/10

Price: $32.00
Where to buy: UrbanDecay.com, Sephora

Chanel Rouge Coco in Boy - Test Drive + Swatches

Chanel Rouge Coco in Boy

Chanel's description: "ROUGE COCO SHINE Hydrating Sheer Lipshine provides lasting moisturizing shine in a water-light texture. The formula glides on for easy application, and a unique HYDRATENDRE complex hydrates and softens lips, giving them a healthier and fuller appearance. Available in a complete range of shades, from delicate beiges to dazzling berries, with a hint of shimmer to enhance a glossy finish."

My review: This unscented/unflavored sheer lip color, which reminds me of a hybridized lip tint / lovely non-sticky gloss, glides on like butter! It's got a nice shimmer to it without being opaque with frost. Boy is a great pink shade that makes your lips look healthy and gives them a pretty shine. If you are not typically a lipstick girl, I think you'd absolutely love Rouge Coco Shines! They have just a hint of color so they're great for on-the-go application sans mirror. They are definitely hydrating and feel like a very well-formulated balm on your lips.

The packaging is great, too. It's slimmer than a regular tube of lipstick, so it can be slipped into a jean pocket or clutch. It makes an enjoyable little click when it's closed, signaling that it's kosher to toss it in your {giant} bag with reckless abandon since the cap is fully secured and you won't discover a mess later.

I ordered mine from the Chanel site and it arrived 4 days later (I didn't pay for expedited shipping). The lipstick came tucked inside a canvas Chanel bag which made me laugh as it reminded me of the little purple velvet bags Crown Royal comes in!

Color Payoff: 9/10 (it's supposed to be sheer, and it is)
Endurance: 7/10
Packaging: 10/10
Scent/Taste: 10/10
OVERALL: 9/10

Price: $32.00
Where to buy: Chanel.com, any department store featuring a Chanel counter (you can locate one at the Chanel site)

Chanel Rouge Coco in Boy

Chanel Rouge Coco in Boy

Chanel Rouge Coco in Boy - on NW 20 skin

Chanel Rouge Coco in Boy (With Flash)

A Peek in the Medicine Cabinet of...Susan T.!

1. Name: Susan T
2. Age: 29
3. What is your skin type? Normal
4. What color are your eyes? Green
5. What color is your hair? Dark blonde with brown roots. Thanks Aveda!
6. Describe your everyday look in a few words. As easy as possible.
7. Where do you live? Tallahassee, FL
8. What aspect of where you live affects your hair, skin care and/or make up? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25391565/ns/health-health_care/ Does this give you enough of an idea? Tallahassee is #3.
9. What do you do for a living? HR Manager
10. If you could design your dream job, what would it be? Maybe my current job, but with more money and not having to fire people.
11. What would you change about your appearance? My mid section would be significantly thinner and much more toned.
12. What do you like most about your appearance? I actually like my nose - I feel like that's a random thing to like.
13. What do you do when you want to indulge? Wine and cheese.
14. What was the first fragrance you ever wore? Hugo Boss
15. What fragrance did you wear in high school and/or college? Same. Well, college I had Ralph Lauren Romance which is still a fav of mine.
16. What is your favorite fragrance that you currently wear? Ha. I wear perfume once a month, if even. I don't even know the name of the one I really like! It came in some sample thing Doug's parents brought me from France. I also again am still a fan of Romance.
17. Where do you buy most of your make up and skin care products? I live in Tallatrashy. My only options are Target, CVS and Walmart. Oh, and Sally Beauty. I do get shampoo and stuff from there.
18. What do you wash your face with? I switch between L’Oreal Revitalife and St. Ives Apricot Scrub (the only face scrub I think that's worth anything and I've tried many) in the mornings and then use L’Oreal Skin Genesis at night, which I love! It's pore minimizing and removes eye make up. I had two friends in town who both love it so I'd say I recommend it for sure.
19. What product do you buy the most of? Probably Mascara or shampoo. I feel like I can never find the right shampoo/conditioner, and I just like trying new mascara.
20. What is your most recent beauty splurge? I upgraded and got the Bare Minerals Matte. Seriously, I considered that extra $3 a splurge.
Most Recent Bargain? I had a $2 coupon on some L’Oreal mascara. Which by the way, having tried numerous mascara's, I still think L'Oreal is the best. Pretty much any of them, except the one with the funky circular wand. I do not recommend that one. Any "brand" name mascaras I've bought have totally failed me.
21. Ladies, what was the first make up product that you were allowed to wear? How old were you? I have no idea. My parents pretty much let me go out looking however I wanted (they would say "you're the one who will be embarrassed one day") so I was probably one of those kids who wore blue eyeliner in 1st grade. Really, I don't actually remember wearing make up regularly until 6th grade when I started getting zits. I think I had CoverGirl foundation or something.
22. Pop quiz, hot shot: You've overslept and now you only have 5 minutes to get ready in the morning - what do you do? Call in and tell them I'll be late. J/K (well, not really but for the sake of answering the question correctly) If there was some reason I REALLY had to be there despite how crappy I might look, I'd just do powder and mascara and then brush my teeth.
23. What does your daily skin care/make up routine consist of in the a.m.? Moisturizer (I think I have Lumune...something or another right now?), Bare Minerals foundation, warmth, eye shadow and mascara. I do sometimes use that L’Oreal Visible Lift in the winter or when I feel like I can see my veins in my cheeks.
24. What is your p.m. routine? Wash face, apply eye cream (Nutrise) and moisturizer at least 80% of the time. I have been making a concentrated effort to at least wash my face but I sometimes still forget moisturizer unless my skin is just really, really dry.
25. When you are getting ready for a special event or night out, how does your skin care/make up routine differ from your daily routine? I might add eye liner and lip stick, but that's about it!
26. When you hit puberty, what aspect of growing up seemed the most exciting to you? Driving. Least exciting? My period. I was so not impressed.
27. What beauty or skin care product can you not live without? Face wash and Chapstick
28. What beauty or skin care product do you spend the most kwan on? Bare minerals foundation
29. What magazines do you read for style/beauty tips? Well, the last time I purchased a magazine was on a work trip to Austin TX in 2006. I actually remember this. Doug's mom sometimes gives me her old Allure's, and I do read whatever beauty headliners MSN has on the regular.
30. What book have you recently read that you want everyone you know to read? I don't know that I’d want EVERYONE to read it (for instance, I don't think my boss who's a 50 year old man would like it) but Marian Keyes "This Charming Man" was pretty good. I also recently read Alice Sebold's "The Almost Moon" which I would only recommend if you are a sadomasochist who likes reading about horrible things.
31. Where do you draw beauty inspiration from? If someone I know personally tells me something works really well, then I want to try it.
32. What is your health/beauty/skin care guilty pleasure? Jergens Natural Glow
33. What is your favorite lip balm/gloss/stick of all-time? Why is it your "ol' faithful"? Chapstick plain flavor. That's the one I've bought the most by far. There is some lip gloss that's maybe Revlon or something that I like because it's not very dark and it's not sticky like most, but lip gloss/stick never lasts more than 15 minutes to me so I normally don't bother.
34. What perfume are you dying to get a whiff of? Hugo. I can't ever find it. They probably don't even make it anymore.
35. What new (or new-to-you) beauty or skin care product are you excited to try? I'm always down to try a new face wash or mascara.
36. Give us a good beauty tip you've learned from someone over the years. Well, I figured it out myself, but using Bruise Relief (I got some because I had a huge bruise on my leg and had to wear a dress for something) on your dark under eye circles helps a lot.
37. Which celebrity(ies) do you think has(have) great style? Why? I have virtually no knowledge of celebrity style. Unless you count what they are wearing in movies and tv shows, and even then I dont' think I could really come up with someone.
38. What tips/tricks/products (if any) has your significant other picked up from you? Um, absolutely zero. Oh wait, he does use my foot shaver pedicure thing! I DO make him change the blade every time however. Have you picked up anything from them? Absolutely not. He doesn't understand why I don’t use Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion on my face.
39. When you were 16, what beauty trends did you participate in? What about when you were 21? I have no idea! I think I had toned down anything horrifying that I did by then. At 21, I got highlights and I started straightening my hair. I still do both of these things! I probably did pretty much the same make up as now with possibly different brands.
40. If you could go back in time and stop yourself from participating in one beauty trend or fad, what would it be and why? Hair crimping. I'm sure that, and the straightener which I still use of course, did nothing good to help my split ends.
41. If you could snap your fingers and have anyone else's __(ex. lips, hair, biceps, attitude, etc.)__ in the world, whose would it be? Anyone with killer abs. I can't think of a specific person off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are plenty of celebrities who have them.
42. What beauty invention do you wish you'd thought of OR What beauty/skin care invention would you like to see? I'd really like them to invent a self tanner that truly works, isn't super expensive (because there might be one out there and I'm just too cheap to buy it,) lasts, and looks like a real tan.
43. Worst reaction you've ever had to a beauty/skin care/hair product? I have been incredibly lucky and have never really had a bad reaction to anything. I guess I have very un-sensitive skin because I know lots of other people who have had horrifying things happen.
44. What product completely disappointed you? Olay Regenerist Anti-Aging Eye Roller. It’s supposed to reduce puffiness - which is doesn't, and it's barely got any tint so it doesn't even help dark circles.
45. What product have you used that ACTUALLY DID WHAT IT CLAIMED? I feel like I'm always talking up products and telling people how good they are. Neosporin Lip Therapy is da bomb - I had the WORST chapped lips of all time this winter and they were 100% better after one day of using it.
46. Where in the world would you love to travel? Well, with all of the craziness going on everywhere, I'm not too sure anymore. Somewhere warm and tropical.
47. What store would you most like to receive a $1,000 shopping spree to? A department store where I can get clothes, shoes, purses AND make up. Maybe Dillards or Macy's?
48. If you someday have a daughter, what beauty trend would you least like to see her sporting? Skinny jeans. Sorry, I hate them.
49. If you could trade wardrobes with anyone in the world, who would it be? Stacy London. She has the best clothes ever!
50. When you travel, what beauty product do you never leave home without? Mascara? I don't know. I pretty much bring most of my make up (even though I don’t wear half of it) whenever I go out of town.
51. What beauty/skin care items are currently in your purse/bag? Neosporin Lip Health, Chapstick Plain, L’Oreal Tropical Coral lipstick, Nivea Lip Shine, B&BW Butterfly Flower hand cream, B&BW Mango Margarita hand sanitizer. What's funny is that all but one of those lip glosses is in a little bag that I seldom open. I just mainly use the Neosporin (which I HIGHLY recommend!) but yet I tote them around with me daily nonetheless.
52. What person that you know in real life has a style that you admire? There's this lady I work with who has awesome clothes. I feel like I’m constantly complimenting something she's wearing to the point where she probably thinks I'm just being fake. But seriously, her clothes rock!

REVIEW! | MAC Give Me Liberty of London Lipstick in Laugh A Lot

Here are the swatches that I promised to post of the Laugh A Lot lipstick from MAC's Spring 2010 Give Me Liberty of London collection! The coverage is good; it's creamy and applies evenly, and the color is a bright warm-tone pink, perfect for spring and summer. It's tasteless and unscented, which to me is wonderful. Oftentimes when a lip product is flavored, you end up licking it off your lips and have to reapply it habitually. I've had this lipstick on for three five hours and it's still going strong (it still feels moist and isn't in need of a touch-up). The packaging is part of the whole reason I purchased this lipstick; it is colorful, whimsical and fun, which is very Liberty of London! Like I said in my previous post, you can still find many items from this happy collection online at eBay since it is no longer available at the MAC website. I've bought from eBay seller makeupemporium1 and have been thrilled with her excellent communication and speed of shipping. You can browse her store here.

Color Payoff: 9/10
Endurance: 10/10
Packaging: 10/10
Scent/Taste: 10/10
OVERALL: 10/10

HG! | Aquaphor Healing Ointment

J'adore Aquaphor!

I have been using Aquaphor as my primary lip balm for years; it's super moisturizing, clear, non-sticky, unscented/unflavored and leaves a nice bit of shininess on your pout. Use it before bed and wake up to extremely soft lips! This product has been a life-saver for me for so many reasons, here are a handful:

1.) Heals and completely prevents chapped lips.
2.) Rubbing a little on a nose raw from habitual blowing during a case of the sniffles soothes the skin and prevents peeling.
3.) If dry, irritated nostrils are on your seasonal allergy checklist, putting a little in your nostrils with a Q-tip will calm the agitated skin and help stave off nosebleeds. As someone with frequent, and inappropriately timed (Really? After waiting over an hour to ride the teacups at Disneyworld...), nosebleeds, this product has made a big difference!
4.) Slather it on your paws and massage it into your cuticles before slipping on moisture gloves overnight for ridiculously soft mitts.
5.) Same for your feet!
6.) Dry elbows/knees/ankles don't stand a chance of continuing their recalcitrance once you hit them with a dab of this wonder goo!
7.) Use as an under eye moisturizer before bed; it does the damn thing!
8.) Use on cuts/scrapes to accelerate healing.
9.) Skin peeling from sunburn? This will help stop it.
10.) Soothe skin annoyed by bug bites.

Aquaphor does so many wonderful things (those are just my uses, there are tons more!) that I wanted to spread the word to anyone unaware of it's magical powers. It's available at all drug and discount stores and comes in a variety of sizes ranging from the pocket/purse-perfect 2 pack of .7 oz tubes to the above glorious 3.5 0z beauty of a tub! In case you couldn't tell from the blatant exclamation point usage, I'm still pretty excited about recently coming into possession of this mega tub size o' magnificence. Aquaphor continues to be my HG (holy grail) lip balm!