FOTD: Rainbow - Old & New

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Swatches: NARS Danmari All About Cheek Palette

I figured I should probably get these pictures and swatches up while it's still available and while people are still doing their holiday shopping.

NARS Danmari All About Cheek Palette ($65 USD) is a limited edition palette that features 6 products (4 blushes, 1 highlighter, and 1 bronzer) including NARS's best selling blush in Orgasm.  Each product has 0.12 oz of product.  All products featured in this palette are available for purchase individually except for Hungry Heart.  Individual blushes retail at $27 USD a piece and contain 0.16 oz of product, while bronzers retail for $33 USD a piece and contain 0.28 oz of product.  Overall, getting this palette is a pretty good deal.

I first spotted this baby browsing through Sephora earlier this year in October.  I knew the Sephora Friends and Family Sale was coming up so I waited till then.  Let me tell you, it was actually kind of difficult getting my hands on this palette.  It kept getting sold out online and I literally checked everyday until it was available.  The entire palette is actually not as big as I expected it to be.

Swatches are done over bare skin and no base.  I swiped it with my finger 1-2 times.

I'm kicking myself because I still haven't actually used this palette yet.  Been too freaking busy for that.  For those of you who do own/use these blushes, do tell me what you think.  Before purchasing this palette I owned the Casino and Sin duo which I really like but don't use often enough.  Leave me a comment below!

Sleek Haul!

Sleek is a much talked about brand amongst the blogging world, and it is generally only available in the UK.  Sleek.com also ships internationally but the shipping price is quite pricey at $13.50.  I headed over to an ebay buyer as recommended by Claire and made a purchase from VanityPalace.  Apparently the prices on the Sleek products are cheaper and the service is better than that of Sleek.com's.  I can't do a comparison but my order came to California within a week of payment which is super fast!  Not even Sephora delivers that quickly.  I think in the end though I may have paid the same amount of shipping, but that's okay.  That's what happens when you try to acquire makeup from another country.  My total with shipping was about $38 USD.  Here's what I got:

Curacao palette, Pixie Pink Blush, and Santorini Blush

The flash killed the brightness of both blushes.  When I have proper lighting again and space to work,  I'll provide swatches and a review. Sigh.  That will be a while from now.  I don't even know where I put these products.  They're somewhere in the midst of my piles of boxes and things.

The Curacao palette and Santorini Blush are both limited edition so if they tickle your fancy, pick them up fast!

Mini Canada Haul (June 2011 edition)

Hellooo everyone!

As many of you know, each of our respective countries offer a wide selection of products, some of which is only available in that country.  Living in he U.S., I have access to lots of goodies, but there are lots more that I don't have access to.  My boyfriend is from Quebec, and they have a lot of neat stuff over there that is impossible or difficult to find here.  Brands include Lise Watier, Quo, and Marcelle.  I had my eye on a number of items from the summer collection, and had my boyfriend snag two for me.  One was the Lise Watier Bora Bora Palete, and another was a humongous bronzer from Marcelle.

As you can see, I placed the Marcelle bronzer next to a MAC blush just so you can see the size difference.  I have not had a chance to test out these items yet, but I really should because I believe both are limited edition items, and I don't know if you can get them anymore.  The Lise Watier palette was approximately $40 CAD, and the bronzer ~$17 CAD.

I haven't seen much about these products yet.  Anyone else heard/used these guys yet?

Trading in the old for the new--A Sephora haul

When I was first organizing my blog sale, I discovered many items that I could have traded in at Sephora for new goodies, but decided it was better if I sold them and put the money towards my financial needs.  Well, for some reason everyone that bought products from the sale scrambled for the drugstore items leaving me appalled because the high end products were significantly discounted.  I haven't been buying any makeup lately because I seriously can't afford it, so I took the opportunity to round up the products and trade them in for new goodies.

Here are the old things...

And the new!

I had a massive list of things I wanted, but I tried to narrow it down to things I needed.  I sort of did that lol.  The NARS duo in Dogon was something I've been hearing a lot of raving about over the beauty community, and I must say it looked better in pictures than it does in person.  I'll have swatches of it and all the other NARS duos I have in my collection coming up soon (hopefully!).  I'm not sure whether or not I'll keep it.

The Laguna bronzer and Sephora blush brush were definitely NOT on my list.  I didn't get the hype about the Laguna bronzer even after swatching it several times in previous Sephora visits.  This time, I decided I may as well try it on.  I asked one of the sales girls that roam around the store for a brush so that I could try it on, and I just fell in love.  If I weren't dirt poor, this would probably be my go-to bronzer for the rest of my life.  I'm still going to finish my NYC matte bronzer which is maybe a little less than half gone, but I think for special occasions I'm going to be all over Laguna.  I also fell in love with the brush I borrowed to apply the bronzer.  It is called a blush brush but is AMAZING for contouring!  The quality is absolutely amazing, so soft yet so dense.  Definitely better than any other brushes I've used including Sigma.  It was quite a splurge, but I think for sure I'm going to be investing in more Sephora brushes when I do more professional work.

The Dior bronzer in Aurora was most definitely a splurge.  This is my first Dior item, and I definitely would not have spent so much on makeup if it weren't an exchange.  Again, I found out about this product through the numerous blogs that I've read.  I swatched it on the back of my hand and it looked really orange.  I threw it into my bag anyways because I figured if I didn't like it, I could return it.  I would have tried it on but I already put some Laguna on my cheeks.

The Laura Mercier translucent powder was recommended to me by one of the makeup specialists there, and I was leaning towards it from what I have seen from reviews.  I wanted a setting powder that I could use year round, on other people, and that would work for flash photography.

The Bare Minerals Well Rested Undereye brightener is something I've heard about from Emily Noel and Michelle.  I don't have anything like this, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I exchanged some things from The Body Shop too, but didn't take pictures.  I was too excited to get these pictures and this blog up!  The items are featured in the video, though.

I hope you guys enjoyed this haul.  I'm kind of so-so on doing these types of posts/videos but if you guys like them I'll keep doing them.  Hopefully if I get the position in Korea, I'll do more haul posts just so you guys can see different sorts of makeup!  Ah yes, Korea...that will be for another time.

Have a great day everyone!

Lotsa love,
Janny

[I have nothing to disclose.]

Blog Sale Preview ;D

Hellooooo everybody!

I will be having a MASSIVE, and I mean MASSIVEEEE blog sale coming up as soon as I figure out how to work paypal and pick up some shipping supplies.  I want to launch it as soon as possible but school (as usual!) is getting in my way.  Fie upon thee.  In any case, EVERYTHING has to go!  I do not want to be lugging these items home and to my new apartment when I move out of here, so please please please take a look and help me out! 

The products are mostly used, but there are many unused products.  The products that I have used have been used very lightly.  Almost none of the products have dents in them.  They are an assortment of high and low end items, and so far the majority seem to be high end products.  A good number of these items are also limited edition or have been discontinued, so it may be your last chance to grab some of these.  Here are some of the items:

To see all the products that are currently up, please go to here (http://jannysblogsale.blogspot.com/).  Again, this is a preview, so no transactions will be made at this time.  There will be lots more items being added in the near future.

P.S.  I will also be having a giveaway soon......

Urban Decay 15 Anniversary Collection: Is it worth it?

If  you guys don't know already, Urban Decay released an exclusive collection of eyeliners to celebrate their 15 year anniversary.  This set includes 15 full sized eyeliners (6 of which are entirely new shades) and 1 duo pencil sharpener (the Grindhouse).  For swatches of this product, please click here.  I recently acquired this collection from Sephora, but not before really thinking about if I really needed/wanted this set.  I don't think I'm the only one who has trouble deciding whether or not to get this, especially when it comes to really good deals and/or limited edition items such as this one.  While the price per eyeliner breaks down to a little bit over $6 per pencil, you still have to swallow the total price of $92 plus tax.  I decided to break down the pros and cons here, and then go on about why I decided to buy this for myself. 

Reasons why you may want to buy this:
-You're okay with spending $92 in one go.
-Quality eyeliners.  These are amongst the smoothest, creamiest pencils I've ever used.  I've been hooked ever since I first acquired my first Urban Decay 24/7 liners.  Really excellent pigmentation and I'm perfectly happy to only use these eyeliners for the rest of your life.
-Retail value for 15 full sized eyeliners (were they to be purchased individually) is 3x the cost of this collection.  You would essentially be getting each eyeliner for a little over $6 plus a free pencil sharpener.
-You already use multicolored eyeliner pencils either as an alternative to black eyeliner or you like to use them as an eyeshadow base, etc.

Reasons why you may want to pass on this collection:
-$92 is 3 weeks' worth of groceries (*cough cough* university student here).  In other words.  You can't afford it.
-During the holidays, Urban Decay releases more affordable eyeliner collections.


REALLY BAD reasons that you may use to justify this purchase:
-You're thinking about using different colored eyeliners more often.  If you're only used to black and/or brown eyeliners and you want to break into color, you really don't have to break into color with such a massive purchase.  Drug store brands like L'oreal, Milani, and CoverGirl have dupes of UD's famous eyeliners.  Start with a couple, not 15.  I once bought a crapload of gel liners from ebay thinking I was going to use them all but I haven't even touched most of them.
-It's limited edition.  The collection may be limited edition but the colors aren't.

I hope that was helpful to some of you who were struggling with the decision.  I ultimately decided to buy it despite being on my spending ban because I felt like this is something that I could definitely use.  With that said, I don't need any new pencil eyeliners for a really long time.

Product Spotlight: Lancome Cover Fever Lipstick in Rose Tempest

Bonsoir loves~

I'm starting a new series that features limited edition or discontinued items.  I am an absolute sucker for limited edition items so I usually fall into cosmetic company's marketing traps, haha!  I have a small collection of such items that I love dearly so it would be a shame not to talk about them!  In this sense, my "product spotlight" series are essentially reviews of these products.  These may be useful if you run into them on ebay or at your local CCO. 

I'm not too much of a lipstick person, mainly because I don't like going through the trouble of reapplying it all day long, and I don't want to be caught with blotchy color on my lips in case I don't remember to reapply.  However, I really do love how the lip color pulls a look all together and makes it look truly "finished."  Lancome's Rose Tempest has been doing just that for me.  I've been using it a lot lately for my blue and green based looks, and the warm pinky nude does a fab job of complimenting those colors. 

Metallic Holiday Look

As much as I love writing in block text, I think my ramblings are a lot more readable if I break it up a bit.  

Packaging:
This lipstick packaging seems to run a little bit shorter than most brands of lipsticks, but the amount of product is roughly the same as most lipsticks.  There is 0.14oz (4g) of product inside the tube, just a touch more than MAC lipsticks.  The packaging is rectangular and features mirrored surfaces with the exception of two reddish purple tinted sides.  You could totally use the cap as a mirror while applying the lipstick.

 Size comparison.  Featured from left to right: Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick, Lancome's Rose Tempest, MAC Viva Glam Lipstick

You're bound to get a lot of fingerprints on this baby if you reach for it as often as I do.  But that's not a biggie for me.

The 5 Senses:
As I said before, this is a gorgeous warm pink, a bit like a nude but with a burst of pink color.  I love how this is not Lady Gaga bright, and is perfectly wearable while still brightening.  Looks great with any neutral look, but I especially love it with blue and green eye looks.  This lipstick has a cream finish, and applies very smoothly.  It will set into your the lines on your lips, but it's nothing a little blotting can't handle.  I usually just swipe it on once and blot very lightly.  Love the smell of the lipstick.  It has a light berry scent to it which makes applying this lipstick a real experience.  I'm happy to report that the product itself is tasteless, and when I do taste anything it will be the day when this lipstick goes bad.  That probably won't happen because I really love it and aim to finish the whole thing.  Its lasting power is not too amazing, as it is very creamy, but it will hold for a good few hours without eating or drinking before another application is necessary.

My bare lips

Rose Tempest, no blotting

 With flash: Swatched once on the left and 4 times on the right

Without flash

Overall thoughts:

Love this lipstick.  It's creamy.  It smells good. I can swipe it on and run out the door.  This was actually the lipstick which got me into higher end brands of lipsticks, because I once told myself that drugstore lipsticks would be sufficient for me.  I still love my cheap lippies, but there is something about putting on a high quality lipstick that I really love.  Call me shallow.  I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out =(

Anybody else out there stuck on a lipstick that they can't replace? Tell me about it! Misery loves company!

Cheers,

Janny

P.S. I know my reviews can get kind of lengthy.  Please let me know if you prefer short, concise thoughts in bullet form. Thanks!