NARS Shimmer Eyeshadow in Lhasa

I've been on a taupe eyeshadow kick lately (well, more than usual).  And in general, I've been gravitating toward cooler toners.  Despite being a very pinky person, I often wear really warm tones.  I know that's sacrilege to some people, but we're all just going to have to deal.  

However, this fall and winter, I've really been going for cool purple, plummy tones.

I came across some swatches of NARS Lhasa eyeshadow and it seemed perfect for my current beauty proclivities.  NARS describes the shade as "lavender gray", but the swatches I'd seen online put it firmly in the cool toned taupe category.  The shade was released as part of NARS Spring 2012 collection, but has since been made permanent.

(daybulb)

(indirect natural light)

Some of the reviews I saw mentioned it being a tad bit sheer, but all the swatches were absolutely gorgeous.  I know, there's always a bit of YMMV with cosmetics, but seriously.  Look at those swatches above.  This shadow is sheer.  Very sheer.  Very uncomplicated.  And very disappointing to me.  

Maybe it's a difference in quality control between the initial run of the product and subsequent runs.  All I know is that the NARS Lhasa I have is not the rich taupe I've seen swatched in the interwebs.  It's not complicated.  It's not complex.  It's very straightforward and one dimensional.  My NARS Lhasa is a sheer purple gray.  *sob*

The only upside to this story is that Sephora had a promo where you could get '$20 off a $50 purchase'.  In reality, it was just a $20 gift card code with no minimum purchase.  So after all was said and done, I paid $4 for this eyeshadow and got free shipping and samples from Sephora.  That doesn't make up for the disappointing quality of this eyeshadow, but it does take most of the sting out of a disappointing purchase.

NARS Lhasa eyeshadow is part of the NARS cosmetics permanent range.  It contains 2.2 grams of product and retails for $24.

Overall:  4/10

L'Oreal Visible Lift Serum Absolute Advanced Age-Reversing Makeup

So, in continuing with my penchant for doing some posts solely for the purpose of complaining about a product, I bring you the GirlieReview product review for L'Oreal's Visible Lift Serum Absolute Advanced Age-Reversing Makeup.  

Cut to the chase, it's awful.  Just look at it.  Looking at it makes me want to cry.  It looks like a turd.  Because it is a turd.

This foundation is like no other foundation I've ever used (thankfully).  It has the strangest texture.  I definitely get the 'serum' part of this foundation.  It has a very thick, emollient, serum-y feel.  So imagine a really emollient, silicone heavy serum mixed with powder foundation.

Yeah.  It's as bad of a combination as you'd think.

The powder just sort of swims in the serum.  And the best part for me was that when you apply it to the skin, it's thick.  I found this foundation difficult to sheer out because the 'serum' never sinks into the skin.  It just sits on top of it.  The upper layer of the foundation does dry out and it has a rather cakey, powdery finish, but the layer next to the skin stays wet.  And it creases like crazy.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have baby skin.  I have my fair share of fine lines, but this foundation creased everywhere.  It creased in the corners of my eyes, it creased on my FOREHEAD.

So, to re-iterate, this foundation is awful.  Skip it, regardless of your skin type, it's awful.  I picked it up at my local grocery store, but you can avoid buying it anywhere L'Oreal tries to peddle this crap.  I'm giving it to my daughter for her dress up box.

Overall: 0/10

Josie Maran Argan Beautiful Eyes in Beautiful Nudes

So every now and then I review a product just so I can bitch about it.  And yes, this is one of those times.

I am not very familiar with the Josie Maran cosmetics line, especially the color cosmetics.  But I was in Sephora and on a total impulse buy, I picked up the Argan Beautiful Eyes eyeshadow palette in Beautiful Nudes.

Don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful palette ... to look at.  Go ahead, look at it.

Go on, take a closer look.  Look at those shadows, look at how rich they look.

Yeah, it looks gorgeous doesn't it?  Well, it's not.  There was one shade, ONE SHADE in the entire palette that performed fantastically well and all of the others ranged from mediocre to abysmal.  Oh, wait, I haven't mentioned the price yet, have I.  Well, let me be clear, this palette would suck at any price point.  I would be considerably less irritated about it if it was a drugstore item, but it's not.

This crap palette cost me $36.  Yes, $36 dollars.

• Lid color - gold with shimmer - Total crap.  Super stiff texture.  No color payoff at all.  Had to dig into the product just to get enough to swatch.
• Liner - dark mate cool brown - Excellent payoff, very soft, very pigmented.  Exactly what you waould want if you were using this color as a liner.
• Corner Crease - bronzy brown with shimmer - Very stiff.  Dry texture.  Mediocre color payoff.
• Crease - metallic bronze - Good payoff.  True to pan color.  Nice texture.
• Base/Highlighter - cream - There was no obvious glitter, but it seemed to have an almost duo chrome finish.  It looks cream in the pan, but swatched is white with a blue sheen.  Super dry.  Stiff.  Terrible color payoff.

I am so completely disappointed in this product and really turned off on the entire Josie Maran color cosmetics range.  At this point I'm trying to decide if I want to scrape off the top 2 or 3, or maybe 4 layers of the product to see if it gets better as you go.  The tester in Sephora seemed buttery soft across the board with great payoff, but that is not how this palette is shaping up at all.

The Josie Maran Argan Beautiful Eyes eyeshadow palette in Beautiful Nudes contains 11 grams of product and retails for a whopping $36 wherever Josie Maran is sold.  I got mine at Sephora.

Overall:  3/10

Flower Beauty Petite Fleurs Pocket Triplets PF4 and PF7

The Petite Fleurs Pocket Triplets by Flower Beauty are something I have been curious about since the line launched.  My local Wal-Mart has been sold out of them for weeks, but the last time I checked, they had restocked so I picked up two of the lip triplets (there are triplets for eyes as well).

Did it seem gimmicky when I picked it up?  Yes.

Are they gimmicky?  Yes.

OMG, YES.

These things are truly awful.  Really, I cannot state enough how truly awful they are.

I think that all of the pocket triplet shades are shades from the full Flower Beauty line, but I could be wrong because I don't think that there is a dark brown lipstick in their regular line.  Yes, you read that right, dark brown.  Not nude, not a shade that caters to women of color, just an ugly dark brown lipstick.

The texture on these lipstick are horrible.  Drying, patchy.

The packaging just baffles me.  It's like they tried to design the worst packaging possible.  It's flimsy, cheap looking, holds a minuscule amount of product, the way the little bullets fit together it is almost impossible to not gouge the hell out of the product while trying to use it.

As with the rest of the Flower Beauty line, all of the descriptive information is on the plastic wrap around the product, so once you open it, you have no idea what it is, how much product it contains, what colors it contains ... nothing.

I got so fed up in trying to swatch these that I just stopped and tossed them in my daughter's dress up drawer.  Maybe she'll get some use out of them.

Overall:  0/10

Givenchy Healthy Glow Powder in 1 Premiere Croisiere

I absolutely love bronzers and blush.  This is a known fact.  And lately I've been really curious about some higher end, harder to find brands, specifically Rouge Bunny Rouge (which I will talk about in a separate post) and Givenchy.

Givenchy is available exclusively through Sephora, but is not carried in my local Sephora, so there's pretty much no way to see before you buy.  So in a fit of impulse buying the other day, I decided to pick up the Givenchy Poudre Bonne Mine Healthy Glow Powder, which Sephora categorizes as a bronzer.

It's lovely, by the way.

And the description sounds lovely.  Sephora says:

 "Totally weightless and invisible on the skin, this creamy formula provides ultimate softness and a light-as-air natural finish. With a consistency that’s easy to blend, this bronzer can be applied alone with the Givenchy Kabuki brush or over Mister Radiant. Use it year-round to smooth pores, even the skin’s texture, and provide a healthy glow."

I will fully admit it's my own fault for not looking up swatches first.  (Here, go look - Karla Sugar has some fantastic swatches.)  I made an assumption based on the Sephora description that this was indeed a bronzer (it may be if you buy it in one of the darker shades, but it doesn't seem that the line as a whole is a bronzer line).

I think this is more of an illuminating finishing powder, much like the MAC Mineralize Natural line, Guerlain Meteorites, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders, etc, etc.  And like the Guerlain and Hourglass products, it is hella expensive.  $50 for 7 grams of product.

Don't get me wrong, it does look lovely.  I'm sure it looks nice on the skin.  I don't know.  Because I need another illuminating finishing powder like I need a hole in the head, so I returned it (without swatching, not that you would have been able to see anything even if I did swatch it.).  

I wanted a bronzer.

Even for my pasty pale skin, this shade is certainly not a bronzer.  I probably would have had to get the darkest shade if I wanted something approaching a bronzer, but that doesn't really seem to be what this powder is designed to do.

I'm not going to bother rating this product since it seems designed to do something vastly different than the purpose for which I purchased it.  I am thankful that Sephora did give me my refund without any hassle (though I did get a dirty look, which whatever.)

I was really curious about Givenchy.  I picked up several different products (reviews coming soon) and it was really hit or miss.  At this price point, I expect more.  The packaging is underwhelming and it is really irritating not to be able to see it in person before purchasing.  

Review: Boots No7 Intensive Moisture Face Mask

A couple weeks ago I was on the hunt for a good moisturizing mask, so I picked up the Boots No7 Intensive Moisture Face Mask at Target for $19.99.

Here's what Boots has to say about the product:

An intensively quenching treat for softer, smoother skin. With caring vitamins A, C and E, plus invigorating apple extract to brighten your skin. This deliciously soft, lightly whipped gel-cream will leave your skin feeling softer, plumper and looking more youthful.
Created with Care. We've created this hypo-allergenic product using only ingredients we know and trust. It has been tried and tested by guests with even the most sensitive skin, so you'll know it will be good to yours. Dermatologically tested.

How to Use
Support a good cleansing regime by applying to cleansed and toned skin once or twice a week. Massage gently onto your face and neck avoiding the eye area. Relax for 5 minutes, wipe off and rinse away. For a more intense treat, leave on for up to 10 minutes, or apply a thin layer before bedtime and wake to really refreshed and hydrated skin.

It doesn't take much product to get coverage, so this bottle would last for a good bit of time.

So like I said, I was looking for moisture from this mask.  I wasn't looking for exfoliation or deep cleansing or anything.  I wanted moisture.

Did I get moisture?

No. It burned.  A lot.

I wish I really had more to say about this product, but that is really the takeaway for me.  This irritated the crap out of my face.  I did try it 3 separate times over several weeks under different conditions to see if it was something I was doing that was causing the adverse reaction, but couldn't find any application of this product that did not just completely irritate my skin.

I do understand that some masks will be more irritating than others, but I was specifically looking for something that was just really hydrating and I did not get hydration out of this.  The irritation lasted for probably 10 hours before my skin finally calmed down again.  And then when it did calm down, no hydration.

For the record, since the bottle says that you can apply a light layer and leave it on overnight, I decided to try it on the backs of my hands and the bottoms of my feet.  It did absolutely nothing.  This product is a total fail for me.

The container has 3.33 fl. oz.

Overall:  0/10