Jill Stuart Mix blush - Milky Strawberry Review

Every princess needs a decent arsenal of vanity-worthy prettiness.

If you are that type of girl, you need some Jill Stuart in your life! I don't understand why American cosmetic companies don't put much thought into developing a product that *looks* nice...I guess it's all about makeup-on-the-go or the whole fast food mentality or whatnot.

I like feeling spoiled. I LOVE Jill Stuart.

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Jill Stuart Mix Blush Review

*Milky Strawberry*

Milky Strawberry is the newest blush in the Mix Blush series launched in the Spring Collection for 2011, Innocent Sexy.

Official description

"sweet and fluffy milky pink, reminiscent of strawberry milk"

It being a brand new release, I went on pure chance, hoping the color would suit my skintone.

Like all Jill Stuart cosmetics, the compacts are princess-y and ornate albeit plastic. The little goat hair brush is attached on a metal-link chain but can be removed. The brush is retractable with a pink crystal tab!



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The blush itself with and without flash

The upper left corner is a pearly light pink highlighter, the upper right corner, a dusty rose. The bottom two colors are my favorite and add a nice punch to the entire palette - the lower left is hot pink fuchsia and the lower right is a bright pinky peach

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The brush after swirling in all 4 colors

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The blush on my cheeks with and without flash

*Also sporting Jill Stuart Jelly Eye Color N in Jewel Flash, a gorgeous shimmery light purple*

Like the collection's namesake, it really gives you an innocent pink flush of color on the cheeks - I think the peachy pink made it wearable on my Texas-tanned complexion! The shimmer is sophisticated and subtle - a great everyday blush! I was surprised that it showed up so well and am dying to try out Little Bouquet for a more peachy Summer blush.

The product is scented - a very light, pretty floral that is not at all overbearing


Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ (5/5)

If it weren't for the hefty price tag, I would own them all!!!

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On a side note, I saw the color OPI's Italian Love Affair on a co-worker and now am on a mission to purchase and share. It is the perfect dolly pearl pink! Will share soon :)

Hope you all are having a good week - very excited to meet up with fellow bloggers this weekend!!!

Diamond Lash Review - Glamour Eyes and Dolly Eyes

Happy Sunday Lovelies!

I took the liberty this February to obsess a little over Falsies - thank goodness for lashes! Not only do they bring depth and dimension to the eyes, but they really are the WOW factor that takes your look to the next level!

Diamond lash is a Japanese brand popular with many of the EGG models (EGG is a Japanese fashion magazine for those into GAL fashion)

I purchased mine from the fabulous NicNic's APopofKawaii store! I was surprised (and very very pleased) about how quickly my order arrived - the package arrived in a little over a week which was super speedy considering it came all the way from Japan!

The items were tightly secured in bubble wrap and snuggly stored in an adorable bag!

The lashes work themselves out to be a little more than my favorite Korean brand DARKNESS if you factor in shipping, but they are super gorgeous and almost all the styles are suitable for everyday use.

The lashes come in 4 'series'

♥ 1st series - the original line in the hot pink box - for a girly/dolly look

♥ Glamour Series - these lashes come in the purple box and add more drama for nighttime looks

♥ Pure Series - the baby pink box for 'everyday' natural beauty

♥ Volume Series - the baby blue box for full and luxe looking lashes

Diamond Lash 1st Series

Diamond Lash - Dolly Eye & Glamour Eye Review

♥ Diamond Lash DOLLY Eyes ♥

One of the TOP sellers of the line in Japan, Dolly Eye lashes are your everyday go-to lash!

DOLLY Eyes are a mix of criss-cross lashes with sections of long lashes - the lashes taper in at the inner corners and blend with your natural lashes easily. I still cut the lashes just a bit so they wouldn't hang out so much at the ends.

Lashes without flash in natural lighting

Packaging

On the eye

The lashes are quite comfortable and the band is not as stiff as the Darkness lashes though they do share the dark lash band.

Comfort ♥♥♥♥♥ (4/5) - Wearable and lasted all day with Dolly Wink Eyelash fix

Style ♥♥♥♥♥ (4/5) - Love how the lashes really opened my eyes - they blend so well

Volume/Length ♥♥♥♥♥ (3/5) They are good for everyday wear but don't offer much drama

Price/availability ♥♥♥♥♥ (3/5) Most people will have to buy online, but not a bad price for 5 pairs!

Durability ???? - *will update* No problems so far with wear and tear

*****

♥ Diamond Lash Glamour Eyes ♥

Packaging

In natural lighting without flash

On the Eye = DRAMA

Comfort ♥♥♥♥♥ (4/5) - Wearable and lasted all day with Dolly Wink Eyelash fix

Style ♥♥♥♥♥ (5/5) - Basically DOLLY eyes style but added volume and length

Volume/Length ♥♥♥♥♥ (4/5) I love how these lashes lend drama to a night out without being over the top (these were my Valentine's Day lashes!)

Price/availability ♥♥♥♥♥ (3/5) Most people will have to buy online, but not a bad price for 5 pairs!

Durability ???? - *will update* No problems so far with wear and tear

A new brand that I LOVE - I wish I could buy them at my local drugstore! The only downside I have heard from reading other reviews is the 'shiny' look of the lashes - they are made of plastic as opposed to human hair so they might appear shiny in photographs with flash.

I will review Fairy Eyes, Beauty Eyes, Model Eyes & Natural Eyes soon!

*****

Random LOTD

I found this necklace at Old Navy - it looks a piece from J. Crew and for a fraction of the price! (on sale for $11!)

I ♥ Jill Stuart Blush in the Blush Blossom Duo Little Anemone! Such a pretty, innocent flush perfect for Spring...

I can't wait to unveil my Blogiversary Giveaway so please stay tuned & thanks for visiting!

Review - NYX Black Label Lipstick with swatches

In light of the Cherry Culture sale going on now, I decided to review my favorite lippies from the NYX Collection - the Black Label Lipsticks!

The Round lipsticks are probably the most well known of the NYX brand, but I definitely prefer the Black Label lipsticks - both provide excellent coverage and color, but the BLL offers higher quality, more product, and most importantly (to me at least) - Moisture! ♥

The Black label lipsticks come prepackaged in thin paper boxes - the lipstick itself is housed in a shiny square plastic tube.

The lipsticks swiveled up with and without flash

♥ *Swatches* ♥



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The lipstick feels very slippery and smooth and glides on the lips with ease - the lipstick tastes like grapes which I found rather pleasant.

*Nude*
An opaque nude that provides excellent coverage - this particular nude leans a tiny bit towards the pink side



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*India*
An orange-y opaque nude



*Girly Pink*
A shimmery baby pink



*Diva*
Easily my favorite of the bunch, and definitely the most wearable. A very pretty mauvey-pink



The downside of the packaging is the base of lipstick is not labeled - if you misplace the cap, there's no way of identifying the lipstick by name!

I actually love these lipsticks more than MAC since they don't dry me out and they feel oh-so good on the lips! They offer a large array of colors in varying finishes and are under $10. (If you purchase during a Cherry Culture sale, they should be around $4.80 USD a pop!)

Pros

♥ Price - nab em' when they go on sale!
♥ Great Quality
♥ Moisturizing
♥ Mild and pleasant taste
♥ Wide variety of colors and finishes
♥ Most colors have excellent coverage (one swipe!)
♥ Sturdy packaging
♥ No animal testing


Cons

X Limited availability
X Can't really think of anything else

I don't understand why these aren't more wildly popular! I can't rave enough!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ (5/5)


FYI, the CherryCulture Sale is 20% off the entire site with code VDS20
**Sale ends tomorrow, Feb 1st!**

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Today was another 'late' day at work. I'm getting home an hour+ later than normal and it's throwing me off! To keep my energy (and spirts up) I need to continue my dedication to power-walking with my favorite Liz!

In random news...

Super cute sleep shorts from Juicy Couture

My JILL STUART package arrived!!! I am HEAD OVER HEELS in love. Will post swatches soon! :)

Take care and drive safe out there if you are in the colder parts of the world - it's supposed to go from the 60s to near freezing tomorrow here in Texas. Brrrrr....

Review - Cosmagic Sweet Deco Cheek in peach pink with swatches

Hey Lovelies!

I hope everybody has been having a great new year so far! It tends to be relatively busy during the first month of the year at work, so I have been putting in extra hours every week to keep afloat. -_-

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That being said, I am glad to be back with reviews aplenty! Today, I'll be reviewing Kose's Cosmagic Sweet Deco Cheek in 02 or pink peach.

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Backside:

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The packaging is super cute as expected - just check out the built-in adorable plastic jeweled heart!

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The lid is cut like a giant diamond and screws off easily. So princess-y!!!

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The set contains a minuscule blush brush which feels soft but doesn't serve any real purpose. Perhaps it might be good for contouring? There really is no place in the blush packaging itself that holds the brush securely so I stuffed it into my knick-knacks box where it will probably remain.

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...Finally, a big dandelion-like puffball on a stick...

...Much like the Puffy bird on my windowsill :) ...

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If you open up the inner insert, there are some instructions on how to use the blush to achieve different looks...

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The blush itself in different lighting. The heart-shaped area is a shimmery coral cream blush, and the lower two compartments house a peachy-pink blush with golden shimmer and a lighter pink highlighter.

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*Swatches* With an without flash

The cream blush reminds me a lot of NARS "Torrid" while the darker blush shade reminds me of a pinkier NARS "Orgasm"! Needless to say, very pretty colors and universally flattering IMO! I was surprised that the blush wasn't super shimmery and if used with a light hand, you could wear this to work on a Summer's day.

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The other color is perhaps the more popular blush of the two - 01 in Strawberry pink. I can see the strawberry color looking great on fair-skinned beauties, but I am willing to give it a a whirl in the future sometime!

Price is $145 HK dollars or around $18.61 USD at Adambeauty.com
(Both colors are in-stock)

Overall

Pros
♥ Pigmented and pretty color
♥ Lovely packaging
♥ 3-in-1 blush - versatile!
♥ Extras = 2 freebie brushes
♥ Universally flattering colors

Cons

♥ Must be used with a light hand otherwise can be too shimmery/bright
♥ Hard to find - overseas orders or e-bay


Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ (4.5/5)

♥***♥

My LOTD

...Some randomness from this past week...

Wore my H&M sweater dress with leggings and F21 "Love" necklace





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I wanted to share the beautiful Hello Kitty purse from Loungefly that I won as a giveaway prize from the ever-sweet RINA!

Super cute dustbag



The pattern is crazy kawaii with bows & hello kitty's face printed all over



The details on the purse are amazing! Even the hardware is Hello-Kittied out!



Delicious hot-pink lining



Thank you so much Rina! Your gift really made my month! :)




Giveaway, reviews and more coming soon!

♥ Irene

Hello Kitty for Sephora - Review and Comparison

Hello Kitty for Sephora - Review & Eyeliner Comparison

My package from Sephora arrived right before Christmas last week! Amidst all the hustle & bustle of the holiday season, I didn't get around until opening anything...until today!

The packaging -as expected- is SUPER adorable...the perfume box is topped with a silver bow sticker...

...and the "sweet gloss" packaging is imprinted with Hello Kitty's famous mug



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Cuteness aside, here is my review.



*Perfume*

This 1.7 oz perfume is decently sized - but I definitely took a gamble on ordering it without ever sniffing. The description sounded just perfect for me! The mysterious unnamed Japanese fruits and green apple made it sound like this would be a fresh & sweet scent.

I was disappointed - it doesn't smell BAD - just extremely generic. The "wink" of vanilla is more than just that and the apple scent is nonexistent. That or my nose might be a little stuffy. The pretty bottle is now doing just that - prettying up my vanity.

*sigh*

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*Sweet gloss*





Equally sweet blogger Rina also purchased this and has some good swatches of Peachy up on her blog

I purchased "Peachy" for my sister and kept "Pink Bow" for myself.

The fruity scent is really nice and the consistency is more of a balm than a gloss in my opinion. I like the color, though it is just a tint.



The packaging is nice, sturdy, and cute!

I was overall very pleased with this purchase, though I'm not sure I would shell out $16 for another one.

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*Penpal Eyeliner*



I am always on the hunt for a great eyeliner. I have tried different felt-tip liners before, without much success. I just recently opened my Dolly Wink Deep Black eyeliner and was pleased with the precise tip and the staying power!

As Rina mentioned, the cap on the Hello Kitty Pen-pal eyeliner is super tight - which I suppose is nice because it will prolong the life of the product. This cap is a bit too tight though, and you have to put a little bit of muscle into tugging it off. :P The problem with felt-tip eyeliners is their tendency to dry out quickly, so I'm hoping the cap at least keeps it fresh. For all that work, it'd better! :O

The tip itself is not nearly as fine as the Dolly Wink tip...



Here are my swatches of the liners - see the whiskers on the Hello Kitty heart-shaped swatch? :3 (Don't ask about the Dolly Wink one, it was supposed to be winking with a bow T_T)



The eyeliner isn't disappointing...but it definitely is NOT waterproof so save this one for a sunny day! The pigmentation is decent, but I would use it over regular pencil liner for more contrast. I don't think it would be dark enough for my liking on its own! That or it might have to be layered on.

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All in all, I bought into the hype! The novelty of this line is reason enough to get excited but the quality of the makeup itself is nothing to write home about. I still might browse again mid-January when the line officially launches - if anything, I *might* pick up the brushes or the mirror. Maybe.

*****

My LOTD was decidedly Princess-y. :)

Pink fuzzy top from Yesstyle.com

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Sparkly "tiara" headband

*****

The Yesstyle model rocking it



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I can't believe the year is about to END!!!

I'm so excited to start another year- thank you all so much for your continued love & support throughout all of 2010. I really and truly feel so blessed - and I have a nice way of thanking you coming up next month!!! :D

I hope the new year holds bigger and brighter things for all of you! Take care and have a safe & Happy New Year!

♥ Irene