Tarte Cosmetics - "The Jewlery Box" Limited Edition Collection

This collection is AMAZING! The colors are beautiful and the payoff is terrific. I love the lipglosses. I just wish that the colors were available in their regular line so that they can be repurchased. I also wish this box was more transportable, it is very fragile and you cannot carry it by the chain because it opens up. I'm afraid of scratching the shadows.

It comes with:
32 New Eye Shadows
8 Lipglosses
4 Eye Liner Pencils
1 Bronzer in "Park Avenue Princess" (regularly in stock)
1 Highlighter

I will write more after I've had a chance to use everything. The photos taken were right when I got it in the mail from Tarte.

Essie Nail Polish in Marshmallow

So I've been wanting a nice white polish for some time now but always worried that it would be to transparent and that I'd need to get a professional gel polish to get a nice white "color." Then I was watching LisaLisaD1 on youtube and saw her wearing this pretty polish in one of her videos and decided to trot off to Ulta to find of my own. Marshmallow looks just like it does in the bottle, no suprises here unlike with most nail polishes. What you see is what you get. I do about 3 coats and one small touchup coat and it looks great. You can see for yourself!

My new Gucci Sunglasses!

So I decided to splurge and buy these puppies for myself for Christmas. I've been wanting a new pair of nice sunglasses so I had been going to Sunglass Hut and looking these past few months but never bought anything until last weekend! I'm happy that I got them and I plan on taking care of them. Nice sunglasses are fun to have but I worry they'll get scratched up or sat on and they are not cheap! Let's see how long I can keep them looking good LOL If you're interested in the item number, they are 2890/s uwwqx 105 (thats what it says on the ear piece anyway!

"You don't know Jacques!" OPI Nail Laquer

I was getting tired of the typical pinks and reds and opted for this new hue called "You don't know Jacques" by OPI. It looked dark grey in the store but once I put it on, it suprised me. Sometimes it looks brown but many times it looks like it has some plum in it. It's nice for a changed and I'm glad that I tried it.

With flash

Without flash

Kat Von D - Tattoo Lock It Foundation and MAC Jubilee, Beaux Lipgloss

The last photo gives you a better idea of what the lipgloss and lipstick combination looks like. I just got these yesterday at my Macy's MAC counter and LOVE them. Will definitely be a staple in my everyday look collection.

Makeup used:
MAC Love Thing mineralized blush
MAC Jubilee Lipstick
MAC Beaux Lipgloss
MAC Creme D' Spice lipliner
MAC Painterly eye primer - no shadows
Kat Von D Lock it Tattoo Foundation
NYX Yellow HD Concealer
NYX Medium HD Concealer

Do you prefer Shimmery Eyeshadow or Matte?

I'm not sure about you but when I first started wearing makeup (and for years beyond that), I tried to wear the eyeshadows with colors that I was drawn to. I loved purples, blues and greens. Typically they were shimmery and beautiful in the palette, I'd wear them and think I looked pretty good. Until I got into my 30s and started experimenting with neutral colors which I had never liked before. I noticed they started complimenting my skin better. All those years where I thought I had red in my skin and was told to wear more Springy type colors had mislead me into thinking I was looking my best...until I also discovered I had warm yellowy tones in my skin as well. I'm one of those people that is sort of an anomoly - however warm colors look better on me. This leads me to my next learning experience...matte vs shimmery shadows? I loved the shimmery shadows because they are beautiful but the matte ones looked more natural and sophisticated...more grown up. I also started watching people who used shimmery shadows and soon started realizing that it seems to make even the youngest yes look crepey. Is it just me or do shimmery's make everyone's eyes look wrinkley? Don't get me wrong, I still love shimmery shadows but I have learned how to make them work for me. I put a neutral matte in the crease and it tones down the shimmery and looks more grown up. Its nice to be able to alternate shimmery and all matte looks though. I could never give up the shimmers although as I get older, I continue to find products and techniques that work better for me and help me to look better and better. AHHHH I love make up :) What are your experiences and which type of eye shadow do you prefer?

I put Eyeshadow Primer on my WHAT!?!

Just being silly with the title obviously but if you have NOT YET tried eyeshadow primer on UNDER your eyes, let me be teh first to tell you that you are MISSING OUT. I could not believe how amazing it worked for me. My concealer has not creased all day and that is a feat in itself! I used the Urban Decay regular primer potion and I only needed one appliction. I usually put on a brightener and a layer of concealer but today I just used the concealer and it seemed bright and lasted all day. I think I'm already hooked after just trying this once. I am going to continue to give it a shot and report back about other primers to see how they test. I first got this idea after hearing about the ingenious idea that Benefit had when they created a primer for both lids and undereyes and thought, "I wonder how just a regular primer would stack up." So glad I did! Go Urban Decay!