SEPHORA+PANTONE UNIVERSE COLOR OF THE YEAR BLUSH DUO

A limited edition blush duo from Sephora, in my opinion it is the best blush product(s) from Sephora so far. The entire SEPHORA+PANTONE UNIVERSE COLOR OF THE YEAR COLLECTION is very intriguing but the blush duo is what I was most attracted to. Upon testing out both colors in Sephora, I knew immediately that I was going to love this blush duo. The shimmery side (Coral) as well as the matte side (Desert Flower) are well pigmented, soft on the skin, and long lasting. Here's how Sephora describes this product:

What it is:
A luxurious blush duo in tangerine-inspired shades.

What it does:
This micro-fine pressed-powder duo delivers unprecedented wear in combination with extreme comfort and color purity. The spirited color combination was inspired by the Color of the Year and each shade can be worn alone or layered for a contoured look. Light, yet creamy to the touch, this translucent powder is packed with brown seaweed extract to keep your skin soft and supple. Smooth away fine lines and blemishes with a veil of natural coverage and give cheeks a warm, energized flush.

This set contains:
- 2 x 0.38 oz blush in:
- Coral, Pantone #16-1539 (pinkish orange with gold shimmer)
- Desert Flower, Pantone #15-1435 (light orange matte)

What else you need to know:
United by a passion for color, Sephora and Pantone combine their expertise to become beauty’s leading authority on color. Sharing an affection for how color can transform a face, mood, or even an attitude, this breakthrough beauty partnership will change how you wear, feel and think about color. You’ll be introduced to playful shades that will inspire experimentation and exhilarating new products you’ll impulsively want to sweep on. It will reawaken and reinvigorate your own passion for color—or ignite a newfound love. Join us in celebrating Color of the Year: Tangerine Tango!

At first look, it may look like couple of bright scary orangey colors but on the skin they are both lovely peachy apricot-ish colors perfect for spring and summer seasons. The shimmery color (Coral) feel so soft, almost velvet like. The matte color (Desert Flower) is also very soft. Both colors are non-powdery and blend very well. Both are well pigmented, with Coral being more intense. They look great layered. I like to apply Coral first and then Desert Flower more so on the upper cheek area to get a contoured look. Both colors can be applied on their own to give a sheer wash of tint: Coral for nice shimmery peachy golden glow, Desert Flower for soft apricot tint. Both colors can be built up for more intense night out colors.

I'm not too crazy about the packaging of this product. The top is thick semi transparent plastic slab held down to the white plastic case by strong magnets on four corners. At first I thought it looked cool but because there are no hinges to hold down the top, it can come off easily while inside a bag being tossed around with other stuff...

I was first attracted to this product due to the lovely colors but after trying it out I ended up loving everything about this product (except the packaging...lol): pigmentation, texture, blendability, lasting power, and most importantly, how lovely it looks on the cheeks!

Now that I've tried the blush duo and ended up loving it, I'm thinking of trying other SEPHORA+PANTONE UNIVERSE COLOR OF THE YEAR COLLECTION products...

 

Or maybe I should've just bought the combination set!

Hmm, it is cheaper to buy the combination set rather than buy each products separately... but since I already have the blush duo I won't be buying the set. Perhaps I'll try the eyeshadow quad next...

What do you think? What do you want to try from this collection? If you already tried, do you love it or hate it?

Essie LUXEFFECTS Collection Review

These are multi dimensional top coats free of DBP, toluene and formaldehyde. These on-trend top coats are designed to be worn over any nail color as a finishing touch.

A Cut Above

(Shattered pink diamond glitz)

Set in Stones

(A disco mirro ball chaos)

Pure Pearlfection

(Decadent iridescence) 

Shine of the Times

(Scintillating opalescence) 

As Gold as it Gets

(Gilded gold sparkles)

Here are pictures of the Essie Luxeffects on top of colored polishes.

Set in Stones

A Cut Above

As Gold as it Gets

Pure Pearlfection

Shine of the Times

Overall, I like Essie Luxeffects. They offer simple one step way to dress up any polish color. Some feels more textured than others (ACut Above and Set in Stone) but they do all dry in decent time and offer protection of regular top coats plus the extra "sparkles." My favourite is Shine of the Time: it's the multi color opalescent  one with flaky texture. 

GLOSSYBOX Review

   Glossybox in Canada!

Founded in Germany, Glossybox is a monthly subscription beauty service that is revolutionizing beauty regimes across the world. Each month members receive five luxury cosmetics wrapped in the company's signature powder pink box. Glossybox provides its clients with new beauty trends and products and a fashionable way to store their every growing beauty collection. 

 I received my first Glossybox during the first week of February 2012. It came in a pretty shipping box that said "GLOSSYBOX" on it. Inside the shipping box was a pretty powder pink color paper box. There was a black envelope that had a post card with greetings and product information on the back. It also came with three sticker labels to be used on powder pink box for when you want to use the box as storage (such a neat idea!)

Inside the black packing paper were six beauty products. Glossybox typically comes with five products varying from deluxe sized samples to full size products but sometimes additional bonus items are included.

Here are the products I received:

Oscar de la Renta Live in Love body lotion, Ahava Skincare Mineral Hand Cream, Elizabeth Arden Prevage Night Anti-Aging Restorative Cream, Essie Nail Polish in Neo Whimsical, Elizabeth Grant Moisturizing Stick, Beauty So Clean Sanitizing Wipes and Mist (bonus product)

                            

                            

 So as most of us are already aware of, this type of monthly subscription beauty boxes isn't anything new. There's Birchbox and Glambag in the US and Luxebox in Canada. I can't speak for Birchbox or Glambag since I haven't tried those but compared to Luxebox, Glossybox does offer couple of extra bonuses. The main bonus being the lovely storage box that the products come in every month. It's such a cute storage box!

Another bonus is that Glossybox tries include at least one full size product each month. However, Glossybox is few dollars more than Luxebox. $15 for a month to be exact. You can collect points on Glossybox website by reviewing the products you receive in your Glossybox or by referring Glossybox to friends and redeem those points to earn a free Glossybox.

Checkout Glossybox website for more details and to sign up!

www.GLOSSYBOX.ca

GARNIER B.B. Cream Review

Garnier B.B. Cream (Beauty Balm Cream)

Skin Renew

Miracle Skin Perfector

Garnier B.B. Cream is an instant all in one skin perfecting balm/lotion with mineral pigments. It comes in two shades: light/medium and medium/dark. 

This feels more like oil free tinted moisturizer rather than traditional BB cream. Some of the noticeable differences would be, first, this Garnier BB cream does not offer any sun protection like most BB other BB creams do. I read a review that claimed that this product has SPF 15 but no where on the product or box does it say it has any SPF. It has mineral pigments so it may offer some natural sun protection but that would be very low barely-there protection. Second, it only gives minimal coverage. The consistency of this product feels thinner and lighter than most other BB creams. Third, it doesn't offer any blemish treatment or whitening/brightening treatment which are some of the things most Korean BB creams are well known for. It does contain vitamin C for hydration and mineral pigments which helps to give skin more "evened-out" look upon application, but the before and after pictures on the box are definite exaggerations. It's hard to believe that the "barely-there" coverage this product offers can drastically cover imperfections as the before and after pictures claim.

It's not completely useless; it does offer hydration for the skin with slightly evened-out skin finish. But these can easily be achieved by mixing your lotion and mineral powder or cream/liquid foundation. 

If you are looking for products similar to Korean/ traditional BB creams, this product should be avoided. If you are looking for a decent tinted moisturizer and you enjoy the strong perfume scent of Garnier products, than you might want to try this!

*I'm typical medium skintone. I wear MAC NC25-30 foundation color; therefore, in Garnier BB cream, the light/medium shade best suited me. The light/medium shade would be too dark for anyone lighter than NC/NW20- Garnier should add fair/light shade to this line! However, since this product only gives a sheer coverage, exact match of product shade to skintone is not really necessary.*

Get a free sample of Garnier BB cream here

Get $3 off coupon for Garnier BB cream here

*BB is short for blemish balm and/or beauty balm*