Friday, April 4, 2014

Chanel Sourire Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick Review, Photos, Swatches!

Chanel Sourire Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick

Chanel Sourire Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick

Chanel Sourire Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick ($35) which means "Smile" in French, is a soft pink with fine golden shimmer. It looks like a bright watermelon light pink in the tube, but once the color is applied, it's a sheer warm soft pink. It's a great universal shade especially on warm skin tones, as the golden bits gives the pink some added brightness, so it's not a pink that will wash you out. In fact, it's one of those perfect lipsticks that you can mindlessly toss in your bag for every day and it's so subtle that you can wear it on your no-makeup days or with any makeup look.

If you're looking for loads of pigment, you will want to look elsewhere because the color is very sheer - and although you can build the color with multiple passes, you won't reach opaque coverage. The texture is slippery like a balm and will leave your lips tinted, moisturized and slightly glossy. It's basically like a luxury tinted lip balm.

Unfortunately as with sheer lipstick formulas, the lasting power won't be super long, so you might need to reapply a few times throughout the day between meals - not that I mind. Since the color is sheer, you can just pop some on - no mirror needed.

Chanel Sourire Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick

Chanel Sourire Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick

Chanel Sourire Lipstick Swatches
From left to right: Chanel Amour Glossimer, Chanel Sourire Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick & Chanel Surprenante Rouge Allure Lipstick. (The other lip products will be reviewed shortly - I just happened to swatch them all at the same time.)

Monday, January 27, 2014

Shu Uemura The Lightbulb Foundation and Sponge Set Review and Discount Code!

Shu Uemura The Lightbulb Foundation

Shu Uemura The Lightbulb Foundation and Sponge Set

Shu Uemura The Lightbulb Foundation and Sponge Set ($55) is a newly launched foundation and application tool created by Shu Uemura that work hand in hand together to make your skin glow.

The idea behind this new foundation was to provide a foundation with high coverage, yet not taking away the beautiful natural glow of the skin. With full coverage foundations, you tend to block out the natural finish of your skin and the skin can sometimes look flat and unnatural. The goal with this foundation is to make your skin look beautiful and glowing in any lighting circumstance while concealing your flaws. It's also moisturizing and long lasting.

The consistency of the foundation is very thin and lightweight, yet creamy and easily blendable. Because of the light texture, I didn't expect it to cover much, but I was really surprised to see that with a small amount, it has a solid medium coverage that is buildable to full - or with less product, it provides a nice skin-like light coverage. It looks very fresh and glowing on the skin and to me looks like a tinted moisturizer, but with more coverage.

It lasts fairly well throughout the day even without a setting powder, although I prefer to set with a light powder because if I don't, I find that this foundation can slightly highlight my pores and by the end of the day the foundation will have faded a bit.

Shu Uemura The Lightbulb Foundation Before and After Photos
Before and after wearing one layer of Shu Uemura The Lightbulb Foundation.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Rocksbox Review Vol. 005 + Giveaway for a FREE 1 Year Membership! ($180 value)

Rocksbox Review

Rocksbox Review Vol. 005

I know it seems like such a short time ago that I wrote about my last Rocksbox, but I've actually already had my current box for a month, so I wanted to share with you what was inside before I send it back. If you're curious about the giveaway I'll be hosting, scroll down to the end of this post!


What is Rocksbox? Rocksbox is a fashion jewelry based subscription service where members pay $19/month to rent an unlimited amount of designer jewelry. A stylist will handpick (3) pieces suited to your taste (based on your style survey & preferences) and will be promptly mailed to you. You can wear your items as often as you'd like up to 60 days. Whenever you feel like it, you can place the items in the prepaid enclosed padded mailer, and drop it in your nearest mailbox. In no time, a new package will be sent your way! There's no minimum amount of time you have to wait before sending your items back. If you decide that none of the items are for you, you can send the package back right away and you'll receive a new selection. If you love any of the items and can't give it up, you can purchase any of the items for 20% the retail price. To read more about the service, check out the FAQs.


My box contained:
  • CC Skye Heiress Necklace (retail price $275)
  • Urban Gem Pretty Tough Earrings (retail price $48)
  • Lucas Jack Frame Wire Trapezoid Ring in Silver (retail price $68)

I'm super happy with this box. I wasn't expecting CC Skye again since I had a CC Skye item in my last box, but when returning my last box I mentioned that I love CC Skye, but I didn't care for the particular bracelet they sent - So in return, for my current box they sent me a necklace that I absolutely love! I think it's really gorgeous and I've been pairing it a lot with my chiffon collared shirts or shirts with a high neckline that need a little dressing up. It breaks my heart a little bit that it's so expensive, but I don't know if I'll be able to part ways with it. 

Rocksbox Review Jewelry

Rocksbox Review

Thursday, December 5, 2013

ShopRunner for Holiday Shopping & my new Rebecca Minkoff MAC Bag!


With the Holiday season kicking in, the hunt has begun in finding that perfect gift for all of your loved ones. But if you're any bit like me and develop the biggest case of indecisiveness when you're shopping at the stores for others, shopping online this year might be what you need in order to keep you worry-free this holiday season.

Last year was actually the first year that I did all of my shopping online and I couldn't have been any happier! No running around from store to store looking for a thoughtful and unique gift, only to find that they don't have exactly what you're looking for and you'll have to run off to the next store to yet again be faced with the same problem. I purchased all of my gifts in the matter of two days several weeks before Christmas. And you know what? I was able to enjoy my Christmas more than ever. I hate to admit it, but every year I'm guilty of running around a couple days before Christmas with my anxiety in high gear.

A useful tool I'll be using this year is a service called ShopRunner. ShopRunner is a members-only service for online shoppers that provides unique benefits across hundreds of the best online stores. ShopRunner's members save time and money on holiday shopping with benefits including free 2-day shipping with no minimum order, free and easy return shipping, exclusive member offers, and easy 2-click check out. ShopRunner has expanded their network of 80+ retailers to include Neiman Marcus, Kenneth Cole, Tiger Direct, Jockey and Fanatics. The price of a membership is $79/year.

The concept is actually similar to Amazon Prime, which is actually the same price and you receive 2-day free shipping on millions of items on Amazon.com. I used Amazon Prime last year and the 2-day shipping feature really made things much easier on myself.

ShopRunner was kind enough to grant me with a free trial to help me out with this seasons shopping, and I tried it out by making my first purchase through ShopRunner with Neiman Marcus. The gift was for myself, but that's besides the point. Haha!

I've been on the hunt for a small cross-body bag for when I'm going shopping, running errands or going out - basically any time that I don't feel like carrying a heavy bag on my arm. The Rebecca Minkoff bags sort of grew on me, and I love the fact that they're stylish, somewhat edgy and that they are available in such a large variety of colors as well as different sizes. I ended up purchasing a Rebecca Minkoff MAC Clutch in the color Port, which is a really pretty wine/burgundy shade - perfect for the Fall/Winter! (It's actually sold out, and unfortunate for me, went on sale a couple days after I purchased it.. boo!)