New Tarte QVC TSV! 6-Piece High Performance Collection

Hi Ladies!

If you've been with me for a little while, I'm sure you've already realized that I'm a big fan of Tarte Cosmetics. When I got the heads up that Tarte had another Today's Special Value set up on QVC.com for pre-order, I couldn't resist snatching it up.  You can find the auto-delivery version of it here. The actual date that this will air on QVC as the TSV is July 13.

If you aren't familiar with QVC'c Today's Special Value, it is pretty much what the name says. It is a one day deal offered on a product. In the case of beauty products, they are generally value kits that truly are an amazing value. If you order on or before the actual TSV date, you also get it for an even steeper discount. For example, now through it's official release date in July, the new set is selling for $49.96. After that date, it will sell for $59. These sets are also limited edition, so it is best to grab them quickly after the TSV date, or they could disappear on you.

These TSV sets can be purchased as a single set or on auto-delivery. If you sign up for the auto-delivery, you will receive two more sets (approximately every 3 months) with the same products in different colors.

The Box

 

 

The first thing I want to point out is that this kit comes in a nice box instead of the makeup bags that Tarte usually uses for these TSVs. I'm actually happy about that because I have makeup bags coming out my ears. The box is pretty and is sturdy enough that I'll be able to repurpose it.

Now here's a look at the real goodies, the stuff inside the box:

This set comes with (from left to right): a foundation brush, Maracuja Miracle 12-Hour Foundation with Broad Spectrum SPF 15, Pure Maracuja Oil Rollerball, LipSurgence Lip Shine, Gifted Mascara, and ModernEYES Waterproof Creaseless Shadow/Liner. You can also see peeking out underneath the foundation brush the bonus item that came with this shipment: a new maracuja eye cream.

Foundation Brush

Here's a closer look at the foundation brush. It is the classic Tarte design of a gold ferrule with a bamboo handle. I love the addition of the flower design on the handle. I don't love that they chose to make a foundation brush with natural hair bristles. I tried using it today, and it seemed to absorb a lot of the foundation. I don't think I'll use it again as a foundation brush, but I will give it a try for blush and bronzer/contour.

Maracuja Miracle 12-Hour Foundation with Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Sunscreen

The foundation is the feature of this set. It is a full size, with 1 oz of product. The packaging is nice with a frosted glass bottle, a pump, and a bamboo covered cap. I know a lot of people will be thrilled with the pump, and it is a nice feature from a sanitation standpoint. I wish the pump was a bit better in quality though. It seems to stick and then shoot out a bunch of product. It is hard to get just a little bit of product out, and I actually had a stream of foundation shoot across my fingers this morning.

Being as pale as I am, I ordered the fair shade without question. I have the Amazonian clay foundation in fair, and it works well for me. I was a little disappointed when I looked at the first pump of this new foundation. It is quite a bit darker than the Amazonian clay version.

Here's some comparison swatches:

From left to right: Tarte Maracuja concealer in fair, Tarte Maracuja foundation in fair, and Tarte Amazonian clay foundation in fair. As you would probably expect, the new foundation has a much thinner consistency than the Amazonian clay version.

All three products spread out.

All three products blended in to the skin.

Thankfully, I've gotten a little color this summer, and the new foundation works for me, but I don't know that it will for most of the year, which is slightly annoying. I had hoped Tarte would be a little more consistent with their shades.

I've only used this foundation twice now, so I can't fully review it. I do like the finish on it (I used a flat top buffing brush to apply it after not liking the brush included in the kit). It blended in nicely. I'm wondering if the oil in it helps it meld into the skin better. It does have an earthy scent to it that I'm assuming comes from the maracuja oil. The scent lingered after I put it on, but I would say it was gone within 30 minutes. So far today, I've worn it for over 10 hours. It has held up pretty well. If I needed to leave the house again, I would want to touch up with some concealer on a few spots and some powder, but I'm happy with how my face looks overall. I'm actually pleasantly surprised that my typically oily skin isn't a greaseball by now, but it isn't.

I'd also like to point out that I went out shopping today, and there was one point when I was hot enough to have some sweat dripping down my face. I didn't think to double check then and there that the foundation wasn't doing anything funny, but I looked normal the next time I did look in a mirror, so I'm assuming it didn't start sliding around my face with the sweat.

Going on first impressions, if it weren't for the shade being darker than I would prefer, I would be really excited about this foundation. Sadly, the color of a foundation is so important, it dampens my enthusiasm for it.

100% Pure Maracuja Oil Rollerball

This rollerball has .6 oz of maracuja oil, which is about 1/3 the size of a full size bottle. I like the idea of a rollerball. I used it last night, and it was kind of fun to roll it around my face. It didn't feel like I got too much product out either. I've had maracuja oil in my skincare stash since last summer, and I don't use it very often. I get lazy, and that's a step I can skip, so I can't say whether this is a great skincare product for me or not. Maybe the rollerball will help me be more consistent.

LipSurgence Lip Shine in Smitten

Right off the bat, there's a negative with the LipSurgence lip shine. It is a pencil that has to be sharpened. I've already read other comments online wishing that this was like the regular LipSurgence pencils that twist up, and I agree. I prefer the twist up packaging. At least Tarte is good about including sharpeners for things that need to be sharpened (I got a new sharpener in all three sets that included their SmolderEYES pencils). This one is even better because the sharpener is built into the cap. You can also see that the sharpener also has a handy little pick that you can use to clean out junk that gets stuck.

The pencil itself is a lot skinnier than the regular LipSurgence pencils, but according to the packaging, they both contain .1 oz of product. The color Smitten is a mid-toned pink that leans a little bit blue. It feels a bit thicker going on that the regular LipSurgence pencils, and it is also a little more opaque. It has the same minty scent/flavor as the rest of the LipSurgence line, and it isn't sticky at all. I have not tested the lasting power on this yet.

Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara

I'm not a fan of Tarte's Lights, Cameras, Lashes mascara, so I'm hoping I like this one better. However, I like the mascara I'm currently using, so I'm not tempted to try this yet. I didn't open it to take a picture of the brush because I want to wait to open it when I'm ready to give it a try. It looks like a traditional wand according to the picture on the information sheet included with the set, so it isn't anything unique in that respect. 

ModernEYES Waterproof Creaseless Shadow/Liner Pencil in Plumberry and Plum Brown

Plumberry

Plum Brown

Plumberry and Plum Brown

Plumberry and Plum Brown after "rub test"

 This is the final piece of this kit. Since Tarte seems to do really well with cream eye products (I really like their cream shadows and SmolderEYES liners), I had high hopes for this. I used it the other night, and I was pretty happy with how it performed.

The eye shadow side isn't so soft that too much color ends up on the lid when you are trying to apply it, but it can easily be built up. Unfortunately, it sets really quickly. There isn't a lot of time to smudge and blend it out. The liner side was creamier, and I had more time to blend it out.

I really like this color combination. It gave a soft, smoky eye look that was perfect for an evening out (okay...so my evening out was playing in a community band concert - it would work for a fancier night out too), but it is still wearable for the daytime.

I only wore these shades for a few hours, so I can't comment on how long they would last on the eyes, but the last picture I included above was after doing the standard "rub test." I applied the shadow and liner swatches, gave them a chance to dry, and then rubbed the swatches to see how they held up. As you can see, the shadow didn't really appear to budge. Sadly, the liner didn't perform quite as well, but there is still a decent amount of the swatch left, and it isn't smeared all the way across my arm.


Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment (Bonus Item)

Tarte likes to add bonus items to the first shipment of their TSV sets, and this set was no exception. This time they threw in a pre-release sample of an eye cream with maracuja oil. Since I'm still on the search for my Holy Grail eye cream, I'm looking forward to giving this one a try.

Value Breakdown

I know when this set actually airs, they will repeat numerous times what the retail value of it is, but since it hasn't aired yet, I can only make a guess based on average Tarte prices. Here goes:

Foundation Brush - $25
Foundation - $30
Maracuja Oil - $16
LipSurgence Lip Shine - $24
Gifted Mascara - $19
Shadow/Liner Duo - $20

Total Estimated Retail Value - $134

I will be curious to see what they say the retail value is when the show airs (Edited to add that QVC says the retail value of this set is $157 - I was pretty close!).

Final Thoughts

I'm glad I got this set, but it's not one that I'm going to say everyone should buy. I think these products are good, especially for approximately $10 an item, but none of them are jumping out at me as must-have items I can't live without. If you're a Tarte addict like me, you'll probably want to pick this up. Otherwise, if one or two of the items catch your eye, I would suggest trying to watch one of the airings on the 13th to decide if it would be worthwhile for you (or skipping it so you aren't enabled into buying it).

What do you think? Will you be picking this up or will you be passing?

Finished It!!! Volume 3

Wow...it's been a long time since I posted one of these...March 11 to be exact, so I've had quite a few products built up.

Here's what I've finished up over the last couple of months:

Nature's Gate Tea Tree Calming Shampoo - This is a staple product for me. My scalp gets flakes if I don't use the right shampoo. I used Neutrogena's T-Gel shampoo for years before finding this one. The bad thing is that I can no longer get it locally. Thankfully, drugstore.com sells it and has free shipping with any $25 order.

Nature's Gate Pomegranate Sunflower Conditioner - Obviously, with two bottles, this is another staple. This formula is specifically for color-treated hair. I picked up some new formulas to test out when I recently restocked on conditioner. I'm currently trying a jojoba oil formula.

Salon Grafix Cleansing Conditioner Citrus Creme - I picked this up on a whim. I've never tried any cleansing conditioners before this. I think the first time I tried it, I used it as a leave-in conditioner because the bottle says it can be used that way. I didn't like it. My hair looked okay, but the feel of my hair wasn't nice. As an actual cleansing conditioner, I really liked it though. I used it on those nights when I was feeling lazy and didn't want to deal with using two products. I would put it on my hair as soon as I got in the shower, let it sit while I did everything else, and then I rinsed it out. My hair was easy to comb through after my shower, which is my top criteria for a conditioner. I might repurchase this, but right now, I'm focusing on using what I have.

Silk Naturals Making Waves Curling Gel - This was the original gumball of this product (SN gumball products are trial ones sold at a reduced price before mass release). I bought it when my hair was quite short, so I wasn't able to use it, and then I forgot about it. This didn't seem to do anything special for my hair, which has a natural wave to it that only really shows itself when I wet it and scrunch it. I don't plan on getting this again because regular products from the drugstore work better.

Pantene Color Preserve Shine Conditioner - This came in the spring Target Beauty Bag. This actually worked really well. Most drugstore conditioners don't detangle my hair well enough, particularly at the crown, but this did a nice job. I'm well stocked on conditioner right now, but in a pinch, I would feel comfortable grabbing this one.

Tone Alpha-Hydroxy Fruit Acids Body Wash - I bought this specifically because of the AHA in it. I constantly get ingrown hairs on my legs. It isn't pretty and gets really frustrating. I was hoping this would help. It didn't make a major difference, but I liked the citrus scent. I might pick this up again at some point, but I'm not running out to grab more right now.

Bath & Body Works Berry Vanilla Body Wash - I stocked up on this scent when it was on clearance. I love practically everything vanilla, so I stocked up on the Signature Vanillas line when it was on clearance. I still have several bottles if this and other vanilla scents to get through.

Philosophy Creme Brulee Body Wash - I got this in a set with a lip gloss and a lotion. I love the scent. However, Philosophy is so pricey that their body washes will never be regular purchases for me.

Silk Naturals Kiss Cleanser - I love this stuff. I've gone through several bottles. It is just a really basic cleanser that does a decent job of removing makeup. I use the foamer bottle that SN sells for it, so this size of bottle lasts a really long time. I've already repurchased another bottle of this.

Silk Naturals BHA Toner - This is my second bottle of this. I bought the first one to use as part of my skincare routine. I kept forgetting about it though. After I finally finished it off, I vowed not to buy it again. Then I bought another bottle to use on ingrown hairs. After using most of it, it collected dust again. I finally pulled it out enough to use it up. I don't plan on repurchasing it again.

Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Moisturizer Night - I haven't noticed a huge difference in my skin from using this, but I have repurchased this already. It is a decent moisturizer, and I like that it has retinol in it. I have read that retinonl is good for acne, and I know it is a good age-fighting ingredient, and I need both.

Sibu Sea Buckthorn Eye Cream - This was an okay eye cream, but I didn't love it. I purchased the Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair eye cream to replace it.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleansing Oil - Part of my issue with this was the packaging. This was a really thin cleansing oil, and it was in a bottle with a twist off cap. It made it really hard to control how much product came out. It's been a while since I've used it, but I think I prefer Silk Naturals Apricot Cleansing Oil better.

Murad Essential-C Day Moisturizer SPF 30 - This came in the sunscreen set that Sephora had out last summer. I didn't particularly care for this moisturizer. My skin got oily a lot earlier in the day than it does with other moisturizers. I used this on days when I was just running quick errands.

Ginvera Green Tea Aqua Whitening Cream - I got this as part of a blog contest prize. I suspected, but never quite determined for sure, that this broke me out slightly. Because of that, I would only use it for a day or two at a time. While I like the idea of something helping to even out my skintone, I won't be looking to purchase a full size of this.

Burt's Bees Baby Bee Buttermilk Lotion - This was yet another Burt's Bees product that I got in a clearance value set. The texture was off, and it separated slightly. I had to shake it before using it. I don't feel the need to pick this up again (even if it is a newer tube).

Dermasel Spa Totes Meer Maske Feuchtigkeit - I believe I got this in a swap. As you can see, the packaging isn't in English. I think this was a moisturizing mask, but I'm not really sure. I wouldn't even know where to purchase this if I did want to replace it, but that isn't an issue.

Philosophy Microdelivery Peel - This was part of a 500-point perk from Sephora. It reminded me a lot of the Olay microdermabrasion set (do they still make that?). I liked it, but I think I like ExfoliKate more, and I can't see buying both.

Pur-lisse SPF 30 Moisturizer
Murad Essential-C Eye Cream
Super Bright Eyed Eye Cream 
Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair Moisturizer

Nothing stood out about any of these samples. I won't be purchasing full sizes.

Yes, I truly am a lip balm addict. In my defense, a couple of these were mostly used up a long time ago, and I just got around to finishing them.

New York & Company Honeysuckle Vanilla lip balm - This had an SPF of 15, which I liked. It had a waxy texture. I don't think they are sold anymore.

Badger Balm - Vanilla Madagascar lip balm - I like the Badger Balm lip balms. I wish they had SPF in them. It is possible I will purchase more in the future.

Kiss My Face Strawberry lip balm - I got this on clearance at WalMart a while ago. Sometimes I like it, and sometimes I don't. This has a really soft texture. I have to dab it onto my lips instead of swiping it. I don't know if I will purchase this lip balm again.

Silk Naturals Tahitian Vanilla lip balm - This was the original gumball version of their newer lip balms. They don't make this formula anymore.

Darling Girl Buttercream Cupcake lip balm - I love the formula of this lip balm. It is really smooth and feels like it melts onto my lips. The scent/flavor was really nice too. The only downsides are that it doesn't seem to last very long on my lips, so I am constantly reapplying, and it doesn't have an SPF. I'll still be repurchasing Darling Girl lip balms to use when I'm not going to be outside a lot.

Silk Naturals Malibu Miss Bronzer (sample) - I finished this a while ago, but I remember it being slightly too orange for my liking.

Silk Naturals Sleep in a Jar Light Peach - I love this product. I went ahead and ordered two jars of it because I seemed to go through this one really quickly. I use it every day under my eyes after I have finished the rest of my eye makeup.

Silk Naturals Caliber Eye Shadow - This is a dupe for Urban Decay's Half Baked eye shadow. I now have two full-sizes of Half-Baked, so I don't feel the need to purchase a full size of this. It is a really pretty color though.

Lovely Android Foundation in Very Fair (sample) - Lovely Android was an online mineral makeup company that didn't last very long. I've had this sitting around for quite a while. I finally threw it into a loose powder mix that I have just to get rid of it.

Urban Decay Primer Potion - This is a staple. After testing out a couple of eye shadow primers that creased on me, I have a much greater respect for good old UDPP (and Too Faced Shadow Insurance). Thankfully, I have full sizes of each just waiting to be opened (and a mini tube of UDPP). I won't need to purchase eye shadow primer any time soon.

Urban Decay Complexion Primer Potions - I didn't particularly care for these. I like my other primers better. I was glad that I got to test out a sample because at one time I really wanted a full size of the pore perfecting variety. Now I can save myself some cash.

DKNY Be Delicious Perfume - It's there hiding on top of the sample cards. I really like this perfume. I've been tempted to get a larger size before, but I've never actually caved and gotten one. I still have a couple of sample vials waiting in the wings though.

Whew!!! This ended up being a good mix of staple products that I have and will repurchase and products that I didn't particularly care for. Hopefully it won't be so long before my next Finished It! post.

What have you finished up lately? Have you been finishing up staples or things that you just want to get rid of?

Philosophy at Big Lots - Cheek Products (and a Lip Gloss)

This is the third and final post about the Philosophy cosmetics products I picked up at Big Lots recently for $3 a piece. You can see my first post about eye shadows here and my second post about combination palettes here.

Blushes

The Color of Grace blush palette has a faux leather case with three pink blush shades ringed with a white inside. In the swatch picture, I swatched each individual pink starting with the top shade on the left (I didn't think to swatch the white). The far right swatch is all of the colors swirled together. On their own, the pinks don't have a lot of pigmentation, but when they mix with the white, the pigmentation improves. It is a pretty pink, but because of the lack of pigmentation, this wouldn't work for those with deeper skin tones. This is a product that I would suggest most people skip.

This is the You Make Me Blush mineral blush duo in Hugs/Kisses. It is a pretty standard bronzer and blush combo. Both colors have a slight bit of sheen to them, but they don't have any shimmer. Hugs is light enough to work on my fair skin. It is a little lighter and warmer in tone than the bronzer in the Supernatural palette. Kisses is a nice, muted peachy-pink. Both have decent pigmentation.

Quick note on the packaging for this blush. I haven't commented much on the packaging because it is pretty basic. It isn't fancy, but it isn't super cheap looking either. I do want to note that this blush is magnatized into the packaging and has a hole in the bottom so it can be popped out. This is a nice feature for those who like to depot their products.

Look on the Bright Side cream blush

Bare Your Soul cream blush

I picked up two cream blushes: Look on the Bright Side and Bare Your Soul. There was a third blush there that I skipped on because it wasn't a color I thought I would wear. Look on the Bright Side is a bright, bubble gum pink, and Bare Your Soul is more of a nude pink. I have worn each of them once or twice. They have a smooth formula that blends in easily. I feel like they are a little tacky feeling after application (similar to the Tarte cheek stains if you have tried those), but that is easily solved with a quick dusting of powder on top. These both have decent pigmentation, but they are pretty sheer when blended out.


Swatches:

From left to right: Hugs bronzer, Kisses blush, Look on the Bright Side cream blush, Bare Your Soul cream blush.

Highlighters (and the Gloss)

I picked up three highlighters in three different forms: a powder, a cream, and a liquid.

The Amazing Grace shimmering face powder is a light pink powder with pink shimmer. If you are curious, it is the same highlighter that was included in the Color of Grace combination palette. It is similar in color to Benefits High Beam, but High Beam is lighter and doesn't have the pink shimmer.

 This is the Divine Illumination Love at First Light Ageless Skin Luminizer. The color is very beige. I haven't tried it yet because it makes me a little nervous. I don't know how it will work with my fair skin. I'm guessing that it is marketed as "ageless" because it has a sheen, not shimmer.

The last highlighter that I got was the Heavenly Light Pink Illuminator. I didn't open the box that this came in when I was in the store, so the packaging was a surprise to me. I don't like the packaging. The brush is way too big for applying highlighter, and it is really hard to control how much product comes out because you squeeze the product up into the brush. The one thing that I will say they did right with this product is that the brush top can be twisted to open and close it, so you won't get a surprise puddle of highlighter in your makeup bag. The color of this is much sheerer than Benefits High Beam.

This was the odd man out in my haul. This was the only lip gloss my Big Lots had. I don't know if there are others. The name of the color is Pretty Please. I believe this is the exact same formula that is in the combination palettes I picked up. There isn't much color to the gloss. It isn't overly sticky but isn't so slippery that it will disappear in 5 minutes. Since there isn't much color to this, I would suggest passing on this one. There's nothing about it that makes it stand out.

Swatches:

From left to right: Amazing Grace shimmering face powder, Love at First Light illuminator, Heavenly Light pink illuminator, Pretty Please lip gloss.

Final Thoughts

The cream blushes are my favorite products of the bunch. I think the blush duo is nice too. I haven't done much playing with the highlighters yet, but my favorite is probably Amazing Grace. The other two might be nice if your skin tone is different from mine or prefer a liquid formula. Pass on the lip gloss and the blush trio. 

This was a fun haul for me. I love the idea of getting a bargain and getting to try a bunch of new things, and since they were so inexpensive, I don't feel so bad about the products that weren't very good.

Have you found any good bargains lately? 

theBalm Shady Lady Palettes Deal!

I wanted to do a quick post to share a deal I originally saw on Temptalia.com.

theBalm is selling all three Shady Lady palettes for the price of one ($39.50). This is an awesome deal! Each palette contains 9 eye shadows, so you get 27 shadows total. That breaks down to about $1.50 a shadow. This deal is ONLY good for today, Friday, May 25.

I haven't tried any eye shadows by theBalm yet, but I have heard really good things about them. I have already caved and order them (BTW: Shipping is free inside the US). 

Will you be taking advantage of this deal?

Philosophy at Big Lots - Combination Palettes

I'm back to continue posting items from my haul of Philosophy cosmetics from Big Lots. If you missed my first post, you can find it here. All of the items I purchased were only $3, and I'm posting swatches as quickly as possible in case any of you might be able to get your hands on these as well.

As with my previous Philosophy post, please keep in mind that my opinions are primarily based on my swatches. I haven't done much, if any testing of these products on my face. I have no idea how well or long the colors with wear. I wanted to get these posts up quickly so you could see the products and get over to Big Lots and pick up the ones that interest you before they are gone.

I was able to get two combination palettes: the Amazing Grace Coloring Book and the Supernatural Coloring Book.

Amazing Grace Coloring Book

I wish I had thought to take a picture of these with something for a size comparison. They are both about the same size as my Smartphone. They are also similar in size to the Wet n Wild baked eye shadow palettes that came out back in the fall.

Each palette has a clear plastic overlay that shows the name of each product along with what type of product it is.

The pans of products themselves are on the small side. The top row pans are the size of a nickle, and the bottom row pans are a little bigger than a quarter. I was originally concerned that the pans of blush would be soon small to use comfortably, but my Real Techniques stippling brush worked pretty well. It was larger than the pan, but not so large that it ended up in the color next to it. I wouldn't attempt using a large, fluffy blush brush, but a smaller one should work.

Top row from left to right: Dream eye shadow, Angel eye shadow, In Love lip gloss, and Be Sweet lip gloss
Bottom row from left to right: Amazing Grace shimmering face powder, Pure Joy powder blush, and 7th Heaven all-over cream illuminator.

I am not a fan of palettes that mix cream and powder products like this for the obvious and often complained about reason that the powder falls into and gets stuck in the cream products. Thankfully, the plastic overlay came in handy when it comes to solving this problem. I cut the overlay so that it covers the cream products and used basic Scotch tape to keep it in place. I'll have to replace the tape occasionally, but I'm okay with that.

From left to right: Dream eye shadow, Angel eye shadow, Amazing Grace shimmering face powder, Pure Joy powder blush, 7th Heaven all-over illuminator, In Love lip gloss, and Be Sweet lip gloss.

Both eye shadows have decent, but not really good, pigmentation and a little bit of shimmer in a matte base. Dream has a bit more shimmer, but the shimmer barely shows up in either when swatched.

The shimmer in both Amazing Grace and Joy is really fine, so they aren't glitter bombs. Amazing Grace will add a nice pink sheen to the skin, and Joy is a gorgeous bright pink that would work well on medium skin tones, but also looks like it will sheer out nicely for fairer girls like me.

7th Heaven is a really pretty cream highlight that is similar in tone but a little darker than Benefit's High Beam.

As you can see from the swatches, the lip glosses don't have a lot of pigmentation, which is another typical problem with palettes like this. I quickly threw some of Be Sweet on my lips to test how it feels, and it doesn't feel particularly sticky. It also isn't so slippery and thin feeling that it will wear off in five minutes.


The Supernatural Coloring Book

Instead of the fake leather cover used for the Amazing Grace Coloring Book, the Supernatural Coloring Book is fabric covered.

Top row from left to right: Down to Earth eye shadow, Pure of Heart eye shadow, Open Your Heart lip gloss, and Reflect a Little lip gloss
Bottom row from left to right: True powder blush, Honest powder blush, and Bare Your Soul cream blush

The layout is pretty much the same as the Amazing Grace palette. The powder products are on the left and the cream products are the right. I did the same thing with the plastic film of this palette, cutting it and taping it down to protect the cream products.

From left to right: Down to Earth eye shadow, Pure of Heart eye shadow, True powder blush, Honest powder blush, Bare Your Soul cream blush, Open Your Heart lip gloss, and Reflect a Little lip glos

Just like the Amazing Grace palette, the eye shadows have decent pigmentation, but they aren't outstanding. The colors are nearly identical to the first two colors in the Box of Truffles eye shadow quad and aren't overly different from the ones in the Amazing Grace palette.

True blush is a pretty muted pink that has good pigmentation. It has less shimmer than powder blush from the other palette. Honest is a decent looking bronzer. It also has a little bit of shimmer to it, but it isn't overly noticeable. It doesn't appear overly orange to me, and isn't so dark that I would be afraid to try it out on my fair skin.

Bare Your Soul cream blush has good pigmentation and a smooth feel. It isn't sticky at all and blends out evenly.

As with the other palette, the lip glosses are lacking in pigmentation. Even the red doesn't really show color on my lips.

Final Thoughts

For $3 a piece, these palettes are a great deal! The overall quality is pretty good. Your preferences in terms of cheek products will determine which one to pick up. If you like cheek highlighters and aren't afraid of bright blushes, you would probably like Amazing Grace. If you go for more muted tones and bronzers, grab the Supernatural. OR...with the price, just go ahead and grab both! :-)


What do you think? If you can get your hands on these, would you pick either of them up?

Philosophy at Big Lots - Eye Shadows

First of all, if you don't subscribe to Nouveau Cheap, go subscribe to her right now! Her blog is the best place to find out about awesome deals and see new drugstore products. For example, over a week ago, she posted about Philosophy cosmetics being at Big Lots for $3 a piece.

I have always wanted to try some of the Philosophy cosmetics items, but I could never bring myself to pay full price for them. Since I traveled to a place with a Big Lots this past Monday, I had to check and see if it had Philosophy. I was in luck, and I picked up nearly one of everything. In my defense, the Big Lots was over two hours away from my home, so I knew they would be sold out before I ever got back to one, so this was my only chance.

Anyway, I want to post swatches of the products I got ASAP, so you can possibly go and grab some things yourself before they all sell out. Due to the number of products I picked up, I'm going to break this down into a few posts. First, here's a look at the eye shadows that I picked up. Please note that I have not worn any of these shadows on my eyes yet, so any opinions stated are based on swatching only.

I was able to get my hands on two eye shadow quads, Box of Truffles and Plum Delicious, and an eye shadow duo, Heaven/Earth.

Here's a look at the outside packaging for the quads:

Each palette has the color names labeled on the bottom, a mirror that covers the entire lid, and a plastic film over the shadows that gives directions on where to place each color. 

Box of Truffles

From left to right: Latte, Mocha, Cocoa, and Chocolate

 
As you can see, these shadows have good pigmentation, but Chocolate can take a little bit of work. Another feature to notice is that three of the four colors are matte. They feel soft and buttery, but they aren't so soft that there is a bunch of loose powder after swatching.

Latte is lighter and less yellow than Urban Decay's Foxy. It is lighter but more yellow than Wet n Wild's Brulee. Mocha is the same depth and just a touch cooler in tone than Urban Decay's Naked. Cocoa is is very close in color to the deepest shimmery shade in Wet n Wild's Vanity palette, but it is cooler in tone. The closest dupe that I have for Chocolate is Werewolf from the Tarte for True Blood palette.

Plum Delicious

From left to right: Sweet Vanilla, Cloudberry, Plum Delicious, Blackberry

 This palette isn't as pigmented as Box of Truffles, which is disappointing. Again, three of the four shades are matte, and the shimmer in Plum Delicious is very subtle. The shadows still feel buttery soft and don't kick up a lot of loose powder.

Sweet Vanilla is much cooler in tone than Latte. I don't really see any yellow in it. I don't think I have anything in my collection similar to Cloudberry, which is a matte lavender color. Plum Delicious is similar to the purple shade in ELF's Day 2 Night quad. I don't think I have anything that dupes Blackberry, which looks to me like a blackened purple that has hints of brown.

Heaven/Earth Duo

This is a picture of the bottom label. You can see that the packaging is a shiny silver that is very reflective, so I couldn't get a good picture of the top.

From left to right: Heaven, heavy swatch of Earth, normal swatch of Earth

Just like the quads, these shadows feel soft and smooth. Heaven is similar to Stila's Kitten, but it is a bit deeper and less shimmery. When I swatched it outside, I saw gorgeous rainbow shimmers in it that don't come across inside. I think I'm going to love this as a lid shade this summer. Earth is sadly lacking in pigmentation, but it is buildable. I think I'm still going to enjoy it for low-key summer looks though. I also went back and bought an extra of this duo for a friend who rarely wears makeup because I think it will be a foolproof duo for her.

Big Lots Shopping Tip!!!

Please look closely at any products you might pick up at Big Lots that are easy to open. Just like in regular drugstores, products that are not sealed well can get mangled by people who decide to test them out in the store. The Philosophy items are in boxes, but they just have small, clear stickers to seal them. I used the boxes that already appeared to have been opened to check out the colors, but then I grabbed from the back and checked to make sure the stickers were still intact on the products I intended to purchase. During the same shopping trip, I picked up a Burt's Bees tinted lip balm and lip shimmer duo, and I didn't realize until I got home that the lip balm wasn't in the package, so I ended up wasting money. 
Final Thoughts

 I would highly suggest grabbing Box of Truffles if you can get your hands on it (I got the last one at the Big Lots I went to). The quality of the shadows is pretty good, and the dupe for UD's Naked alone makes it worth $3.

Plum Delicious and the Heaven/Earth duo are lesser in quality, so I'm guessing most of you should pass on them. I think I will enjoy them because there are times when a lack of pigmentation doesn't bother me. If you are looking for soft colors that are impossible to overdo, you might give them a look.

Do any of these shadows look appealing to you? Are you planning on heading over to Big Lots to check out the Philosophy display?

Random Thoughts - Volume 2

Additions I want/need to make to my blog...

I've had some things on my mental blog to-do list for a while now that I haven't quite gotten to yet. I know I need to add a disclosure statement. I haven't worried about it too much yet because I haven't had anything sent to me for review, and I don't expect to get anything sent to me any time soon. That being said, it still needs to be done.

I want to add an "About Me" page, and I've tried writing it a couple of times. Each time I try, I get stuck. It always ends up sounding like rambling and completely irrelevant. What do you look for on an "About Me" page?

Other goals are to start using my Twitter account and create a facebook page for my blog. 

The one thing that I was able to accomplish for my blog a couple of months ago was an avatar picture. I never like pictures that I take of myself, so that was out. I don't have any EOTD pictures that I like enough to look at every time I got to my blog dashboard. I came up with the brainstorm to take pictures of the amaryllis flowers my fiance and I had blooming in our sunroom. I them played with the colors in Picasa to match my blog theme. I was pretty happy with the result.

I made another haul...

On Monday I traveled up to the school that I taught at the past two years to visit with my former co-workers before the school year ended. I took advantage of being near better shopping and stopped at a Big Lots, two CVSs, two Walgreens, and two WalMarts looking for makeup/beauty items I can't get in my town. I picked up a ton of Philosophy cosmetics at Big Lots...I would have preferred picking up a few things, testing them out, and going back for more, BUT since I couldn't do that...I grabbed everything that I thought I might like. I also got some LE stuff that my CVS isn't carrying yet (and might not get at all).

I should be getting some haul/first impressions posts up over the new few days. I especially want to get up posts on the Philosophy items since I'm guessing those will sell out relatively quickly. To help get them up more quickly, I did a couple of massive picture taking sessions. I did one taking pictures of the brand-new products before I stuck my fingers in them, and today I took swatch pictures of everything.

Brushes need washing...

I've been so busy lately, I haven't had the chance to wash my brushes in a long time. I washed a few brushes a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't get to all of them. I am now completely out of clean flat-shader brushes, and I have a lot of them. When I took pictures of my May MyGlam bag, I realized that I haven't even washed my April MyGlam brushes yet. Oops! That is one of my many projects that I want to get to today.

Summer is here!

The school year is officially over, so my schedule is going to slow down a little bit. I'm excited for the down time to work on my blog and work on projects around the house. Beyond that, I don't have any super exciting summer plans. Are you doing anything exciting this summer?

Keep your eyes peeled for my Philosophy cosmetics posts. There's some really good things that you should definitely check out if you have a Big Lots near you!