Review and Swatches: Tarte and Bare Escentuals

Ok, so... I've been meaning to do a review on this stuff for weeks now; since these products were purchased  during Black Friday weekend. Still, some of these products are available individually regardless, so I figured I'd mention them as more gift ideas :D

I purchased 3 sets: 1 Tarte and 2 Bare Escentuals. These were AMAZING deals at the time; for example, the Tarte set included a full sized amazonian clay blush, a full sized amazonian clay cream shadow, and an eye brush for $22... For those of you that shop for Tarte cosmetics, you know the full sized blush ALONE is $25. So you really can't argue here. The other 2 sets were $10 each.

Now, again, while these may no longer be available as sets anymore, I figured I could still do a review on them since the majority is available all on it's own, so you all might be interested in them. :)

First up is the Tarte set I mentioned. It came with an Amazonian Clay Blush in 'Flush,' an Amazonian Clay Eye Shadow in 'Slate,' and an eyeshadow brush. Flush is a berry-pink blush that is HIGHLY pigmented. Actually, I was very intimidated by this color since I'm extremely pale... However, when used with a VERY light hand, it gives a nice 'flushed' tint to your cheeks, kinda like you've been out in the cold for a while. Slate is like a champagne-taupe color. I'm really not too sure about how I feel about this product quite yet, simply because I haven't used it very much. However, when doing the swatches for it, the formula seemed way too drag and draggy. It also set very quickly, making it hard to work with. Now, it could just be that I'm not using it correctly, but once I get a better grasp on it, I'll update my review on it ^_^;;

Amazonian Clay Blush and Eyeshadow 

Amazonian Clay Blush and Eyeshadow  (natural lighting)

Amazonian Clay Blush and Eyeshadow (Flash) 

Swatch: A.C. Eyeshadow in 'Slate' and A.C. Blush in 'Flush' [natural lighting] 

Swatch: A.C. Eyeshadow in 'Slate' and A.C. Blush in 'Flush' [flash] 

Next are the two Bare Escentual sets. Both had a specific theme to them; one being for eyes while the other was more of for the total face. 

The eye set came with a full sized "Flawless Definition" mascara in black and two deluxe sample eyeshadows:

-Cultured Pearl: a pearly off-white color

-Muse: a satiny charcoal

The mascara is interesting in the sense that it's not the way I remember it. I once used to use this mascara a while back, and the brush was way different. Back then, it was like a wirey pipe-cleaner type applicator. Now, it's a rubber applicator with shorter bristles. I might like this one a bit more, simply because I think the bristles give better separation of the lashes. The shadows are very nice for something like a simple yet classic look. They are a slight bit sheer, but also buildable (especially in the case of Muse). Paired with the mascara, it's perfect. 

The face set included:

-Bare Minerals Natural lipgloss in Citrus Tart: Sheer golden peach

-Bare Radiance all-over face color: shimmery peach highlight

-SPF 15 Mineral veil in Translucent

The lip gloss is pretty sheer, but has a sort of "Your lips but better" look to it. It's not really on the sticky side, but has more of a thick cream feel. There's very light fragrance which doesn't really bother me, nor do I think it's strong enough to bother anyone else for that matter. It also has a brush applicator which I like since it feels like I get more control of the product. The Bare Radiance powder give a very shimmery peach glow. On my skin, it's almost like a subtle bronzer, as if I had been walking out in the sun for a little while. As for the mineral veil, It's a very nice setting powder to place over your makeup for a flawless finish. I've honestly used this stuff non-stop for the past god-knows-how-many years now. It truly leaves my skin looking like it has an air-brushed finish.

 Bare Escentuals eye and face sets

Bare Escentuals eye and face sets [flash] 

Flawless Definition mascara wand 

Natural Lip Gloss in Citrus Tart 

Swatches: 'Muse', 'Cultured Pearl', Bare Radiance, and Citrus Tart [natural light] 

Swatches: 'Muse', 'Cultured Pearl', Bare Radiance, and Citrus Tart [flash]

Hopefully, this will be helpful for anyone who may want to get these sort of items as stocking stuffers for the holidays, or just in general. I'm hoping to get one more post up for a gift idea. I've just fallen so far behind with everything going on. So, hopefully the world won't end before then... LOL I KID!

Over the weekend, I hit Holiday Matsuri and had an amazing time! Got to meet J Michael Tatum (Sebastian from 'Black Butler' [Kuroshitsuji]), who I thought I'd NEVER meet since everyone convinced me that he never went to Florida conventions; as well as a few other amazing actors. Can't even expressed how much I spazzed when Mr. Tatum and Todd Haberkorn sat next to my friend and  for lunch. I'm sure all the surrounding fangirls wanted to kill us xDD

It's certainly an experience I'd never forget. I gotta admit, I have a bit of a starstruck crush on Tatum, even if he's gay. Hahaha! ^/////^

Quinton Flynn (Axel from Kingdom Hearts) singing "The Yaoi Song" while Todd Haberkorn (Italy from Hetalia and Hikaru from Ouran High School) sits on J Michael Tatum's (Sebastian from Black Butler) lap. {I SHIP IT!!!}

Hahahaha! Well, that's all for now. 

So, 'til next time~

Stay beautiful, both inside and out~<3

x~PhantomRose~x

Review and Swatches: Too Faced Bon Bons Palette

Omg~ Lauren is actually posting reviews again?
WHUT IS THIS!?

Haha~! Yes, I'm back from my hiatus. With a lot to catch up on might I add. The past few weeks have been rough. I've slowly been getting better about Cody's death, as well as going out of my mind at work. I volunteered for some extra shifts in the security department which bumped me up to 52 1/2 hours last week alone. 12 1/2 hours of overtime leaves me with no room to complain xP

Also getting ready for a holiday-based anime convention this weekend, so my brain is totally FRIED. Between prepping for that, working on photos for reviews (which there's A LOT, lemme tell ya), and re-recording tutorials for youtube, I question how I managed. xD

I figured I'd start off with the more holiday based reviews. A tad late, yes, but perhaps they may help for some last minute gift ideas.

This is for the amazing Too Faced Bon Bons palette!

This palette was one of the more appealing sets that Too Faced had released this year. Now, don't get me wrong, the rest of their holiday collection is amazing as well. However, this palette had more brand new shades than the rest of them. For example, the majority of eyeshadow shades in their Sweet Indulgence palette (available at Sephora) had a lot of shades that are either available in other palettes OR on their own. So, this one naturally seemed like the better buy if you're like me and have pretty much every palette Too Faced had to offer. LOL

This palette contains 12 eyeshadows, a deluxe sample sized Shadow Insurance in the Candlelight shade, and a full sized LashGasm mascara in black. Now, a few of the shades are repeats, which I'll go into more detail about later, but the majority are brand new shades made just for the holidays :D

The packaging of this palette, while not as visually appealing as the GORGEOUS packaging they had last year for their Sweet Dreams palette/collection, is still cute. It's much more simple looking, with a pale pink velvet-covered box laced with gold. It closes with a magnetic flap, like most of Too Faced's other palettes.

The size of the eyeshadows are about the sized of the Sweet Dreams palette's (0.03 oz.). The shades included are:
-Vanilla (matte bone)
-Cut the Cake (heathered mist) [also available in the Romantic Eye palette]
-Framboise (Dark smokey plum)
-Coffee Bean (matte coffee) [also available in the Matte Eye palette]
-Peach Fuzz (peachy gold) [also available in the Summer Eye palette and Sexpresso/Peach Fuzz duo]
-Hot Cocoa (chocolate)
-Candy Rose (pink sparkle)
- Lovey Dovey (sable brown) [also available in the Lovey Dovey duo]
-Nude Beach (nude peach) [also available in the Natural Eye palette]
-Cinnamon Sugar (golden bronze)
-Marzipan (medium orange-brown)
-Licorice Latte (black with bronze sparkle)

Like with most other Too Faced palettes, it comes with some tutorials. However, instead of the usual cards, these are on a foldable sheet. I dunno how I feel about this. I think the cards would be much more durable.

 Swatches

Top row: Vanilla, Cut the Cake, Framboise, Coffee Bean

Middle row: Peach Fuzz, Hot Cocoa, Candy Rose, Lovey Dovey

Last row: Nude Beach, Cinnamon Sugar, Marzipan, Licorice Latte

As always, Too Faced never really disappoints me. Even with shades like "Peach Fuzz", which may look like  it has no pigmentation; it's actually one of my favorite subtle highlights (which I'm sure I've mentioned in the past). Cut the Cake might be the only one that needs a bit of work to get it more visible. As a whole, this palette is very neutral, the most stand-out-ish sort of shades being in the top row with the purple shades. There's a nice variety of finishes from matte to shimmer to satin, which is nice. It leaves room for many possibilities as far as looks go.

In my opinion, this palette would make a lovely gift for any Too Faced lover. It would also make a suitable gift for someone who prefers neutrals, or is even new to makeup all together. At a price of $42, it's well worth it, especially since you get the primer and mascara with it! :D

Hoping to get back on track with my posts. There's still a few things I feel are worth mentioning for the holidays ^u^

'Til next time,

Stay beautiful, both inside and out~ <3

x~PhantomRose~x

The good, the bad, and the worst...

It's been a while since I've last posted, and for those who have read my hiatus post, you know why. So let's start off with the good news.

My laptop is finally working again. It's still working pretty crappy, but it at least turns on and functions to an extent.

Now for the bad news: EVERYTHING has been wiped off of it. All of my swatch photos and EVERYTHINGGGGGG!! So I'll have to re-film the tutorials I had set up (which I never even got the chance to post ONE), re-swatch some of my items, etc. It'll take a hell of a long time, but I'mm get it done. I promise.

However...

Today, I really don't want to think about the swatches and reviews.

I lost a very good friend today, which is what brings me to the worst news...
One of my dogs had to be put down today, and to be honest, I have no idea as to how to handle it... My beloved yellow lab, Cody, was diagnosed with lymphoma a few weeks ago, which was heartbreaking. He was already a survivor of cancer a while back, so to know he was going through it all over again was unbearable. Because of his age, we didn't want to have to put him through radiation all over again, since the previous time he went through it, it was 3 months of misery for him. We wanted him to live out the rest of his life in as much comfort as humanly possible.

The vet told us he had anywhere between 2-6 months left to live, but... he barely made it past 2 weeks... The cancer spread much more rapidly than we thought it would, and resulted in him being hospitalized... He wasn't responding well to his treatment, and began to both swell up and look skeletal (if that is at all possible). My mom and I knew at that moment, we'd have to put him out of his misery...

I can't even express to you how... hard it is to have to put down one of your best friends. Only other animal lovers who have gone through the same thing could understand what it's like. Mom and I stayed by him side to the very end, just like he'd always been for us... and... It was all just so fast... I swear to god, it was like he simply fell asleep...

The moment his heart stopped, so did mine. All I could think about was how well he was doing a week ago; so full of life and emotion, and then to see him lay lifeless... It takes a toll on your heart.

I know there will never be another dog like Cody... He will forever have a place in my heart.

Being home feels so quiet now... While I may have 2 other dogs and 2 cats, Cody was the life of this house. And honestly, his death almost seems like a dream. I don't want to believe he's dead. I can still see him running in the front yard, or rolling across the carpet with the legit smile he always had when he was happy.

If God actually exists, and there's such thing as a Heaven, Cody deserves the highest spot there.

To my very best friend, I love you with all of my heart and miss you more than words can ever express. Your body may have died, but your spirit remains here in this house, as well as in our hearts.

R.I.P. Cody <3

x~PhantomRose~x

Explanation for my hiatus

Sorry guys!! No reviews or swatches today...

The reason being-- MY COMPUTER CRAPPED OUT ON ME!!!!

This is also why I haven't been able to post any new reviews, swatches, or even my tutorials over the past few weeks :(
All of the photos and videos I had taken were uploaded to my computer, ready to go, and suddenly the whole computer decided it didn't eve wanna turn on...

I'm having it looked at for the time being, so until then, I won't be able to do much. I'm hoping that my entire hard drive isn't wiped out, cuz then I'll be PISSED that I'd have to start at ground 1...

So until then, please sit tight. I promise I haven disappeared off the face of the planet.

X~PhantomRose~X

Review and swatches: L'oreal Infallible 6 New Summer Colors

Forgive my slight hiatus recently!! >_<

Work has been absolutely out of control over the past few weeks, and with a convention coming up, I've been scrambling out of my mind to get ready for it.

Then of course my birthday is exactly 1 week away, so I'm totally mindblown.

Fret not though. I've gotten quite a few products to do reviews on and such. So this blog should be getting a few updates.

This product is something that I rave about rather often, and since new shades have some out, I HAD to share it with you all.

L'oreal Infallible eye shadows have 6 brand new shades that came out recently, and they are absolutely GORGEOUS.

If I'm not mistaken, these shades are permanent. If not, I'll be sure to give you guys a heads up.

So let's get into the shades~

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*Liquid Diamond

Liquid Diamond is a silvery lilac grey shade. I'm in love with this one since it brings life to my near-black eyes. It's very unique, in the sense that I haven't seen many colors like it (if any).

It initially swatches a little sheer, but it's also buildable, which is perfect since some looks can be made less or more intense whenever you like. Applied wet, it's alot more metaillic. So it's definitely a fun shade to play with.

Liquid Diamond packaging

Liquid Diamond [Natural light]

Liquid Diamond [with flash]

Liquid Diamond swatch [natural light]

Liquid Diamond swatch [with flash]

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*Glistening Garnet

 Glistening Garnet is a shimmery berry-pink. I'm not too sure about how I feel about this one yet, simply since... well, pink is a hard color in general to work with. However, that being said, it's still pretty. Paired with a soft brown and some gold, it might make some pretty looks for the summer ^_^

Glistening Garnet packaging

Glistening Garnet [natural lighting]

Glistening Garnet [with flash]

Glistening Garnet [natural light]

Glistening Garnet [with flash]

_____________________________

*Endless Sea

Endless Sea is an aqua turquoise. This color is probably my favorite of this bunch. It's so bright and shimmery. In a sense, it reminds me of the Carribean waters. :D

In comparison to L'oreal Infallible Infinite Sky, Endless Sea is darker. Inifinite Sky is much paler and almost silvery while this Endless Sea is more Blue-Green.  

Endless Sea packaging

Endless Sea [natural light]

Endless Sea [with flash]

Endless Sea swatch [natural light]

Endless Sea [with flash]

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*Golden Emerald

 Golden Emerald is a kelly green with tons of golden shimmer/glitter. It's an absolutely GORGEOUS color. In comparison to Golden Sage, Golden Emerald is darker, and the gold glitter is much more apparent. I'm actually kind of excited to use this color when autumn rolls around. ^ ^

Golden Emerald packaging

Golden Emerald [natural lighting]

Golden Emerald [with flash]

Golden Emerald swatch [natural light]

Golden Emerald swatch [with flash]

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*Bottomless Java
Bottomless Java is a deep 'coffee' brown with bronze shimmer. I actually think this color would be gorgeous for a twist on the smokey eye. With a bit of champange or gold eye shadow~ HNGGG~! <3

Bottomless Java packaging

Bottomless Java [natural light]

Bottomless Java [with flash]

Bottomless Java swatch [natural light]

Bottomless Java swatch [with flash]

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*Smoldering Plum
Smoldering Plum is a blackened plum with intense shimmer. This is another color that I think would be perfect for a smokey eye. The color seems a bit flat in the container, and even in these swatches. However, in the sun, it has impressive shimmer~ :3
Its just kinda one of those things you need to see for yourself in person :D

Smoldering Plum packaging

Smoldering Plum [natural light]

Smoldering Plum [with flash]

Smoldering Plum [natural light]

Smoldering Plum [with flash]

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My verdict: As always, I LOVE L'oreal Infallible eye shadows. These are no exception. They are equially as lovely as the original 12. I'm hoping these are permanent shades. If not, as I said, I'll let you guys know. ^_^

I'm hoping to get a few more of my reviews up this week. It's just going to be so hecktic, since I work everyday until the con, which I'll be attending for all 3 days, only to go back to work after x__x

God help me LOL

I know I keep promising my tutorials as well. I SWEAR they're coming. OTL

It'll just take a bit longer than I meant for it to.

'til next time~

Stay beautiful, both inside and out~ <3

x~PhantomRose~x