Blush Swatches

I am not a big blush collector. I have a lot of natural pigmentation in my cheeks, so I've always passed on blush for fear of emphasizing it. Lately though I have started to experiment with blush a bit more and have added a few to my collection.

NARS seems to be the standard for blushes in the mid range cosmetics. I only have two: Douceur and a mini Orgasm (part of an old Sephora 500 point perk). Douceur is a dusty pink/mauve. It looks really dark and brown in the swatches, but looks less dirty in real life. I'm fairly sure everyone knows why Orgasm looks like...but it's a shimmery peachy pink.

From Tarte, I have two of the Amazonian clay blushes. Both were part of various kits and I'm not sure they are available individually. Charisma is a peachy pink with shimmer. Adventurous is a muted berry with shimmer.

As far as MAC blushes go, I currently own one (although I do have 3 MSFs). It is Launch Away and was released last summer. It's a nice, light pink with a bit of peach and no shimmer/sheen.

Lastly, I have a bareMinerals blush from the Ready line in The Natural High. I reviewed this recently, but it's (again) a peachy pink with shimmer.

(Do we see a trend with my choices?!?)

I definitely need to branch out some with my color choices and also get more matte/satin finishes, but I'm still a blush newbie. Do you have a favorite blush or one you can't wait to buy?

Tarte Carried Away Collector's Set

Tarte is killing it for Holiday this year. Earlier I showed you their smoulderEYES set which was amazing. Now I have the Carried Away Collector's Set.

This is exclusive to Sephora and I believe it's $54. You get a gorgeous travel bag, an Amazonian clay blush, a setting powder, small size Lights Camera Lashes mascara, 8 maracija lipglosses, a brush, and 24 eyeshadows. Not a bad deal at all!

In going to break this down into three posts. This one will have general information and swatches of the blush. I will do a separate one for eyeshadows and one for the glosses.

The blush, Adventurous, is a gorgeous rose color with subtle golden shimmer. It's a really pretty color, but probably dupe able. I don't have a lot of blushes, so I personally don't have anything like it.

The setting powder is colorless, so I'm not including swatches. It's a nice setting powder. Granted, I'm not very oily but it kept any shine at bay.

The brush is very soft and seems well made.

Ulta 20% Off Haul!

I took advantage of my 20% off coupon at Ulta this weekend. I love when I get one of these in the mail. Ulta really has a great points program.

I picked up a Too Faced Glamour to Go palette. I looked at the Holiday one, but decided against it since I have so many neutrals in my collection. The regular one has a few non neutrals while still being wearable. This has 8 shadows, a blush, a bronzer, and a gloss. Nice to throw in your bag since it has a great array of color products.

I also got the Tarte Smoulder Eyes kit for Holiday. I have never used these before, but after seeing swatches knew I needed it ;)! It has some stunning colors.

That's all I grabbed, but I am super happy with my choices.

Sephora Give Me Some Lip swatches

A couple days ago, I showed some pics of the new Give Me Some Lip gift set from Sephora. This is a set of 6 lip products; 2 of which are full size. The price is $25 USD. You can't beat that! I only swatched 4 of the 6 since the Sephora brand gloss and Fresh Sugar balm will be used in a future giveaway.

Bite Vintage is a gorgeous wine color. Great for Fall! This goes on fairly sheer, so it's nice for a quick swipe and go!

Laura Mercier Baby Doll is a shimmery light pink. LM's lip glacé is one of my fave gloss formulas and this is a great wearable color.

Hourglass Child is a peachy nude. This didn't do much to my natural lip color, but the formula is awesome! My lips felt great, moisturized during and after wear.

Finally, a Lipsurgence from Tarte in the color Hope. This is a matte warm pink. I have other Lipsurgence pencils and like them a lot, but this is my first matte formula. I haven't worn it yet and look forward to trying it!

This set is definitely worth the money and a great value!

Preview! Sephora's Give Me Some Lip gift set

I picked up this set today and haven't gotten much of a chance to try all the lip products yet. I wanted to put up a couple quick pics as I'm sure it will sell fast!

This set has 6 products from Sephora's own line, Laura Mercier, Tarte, Hourglass, Bite, and Fresh. Not bad for $25!

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Mascara

I received this mascara as part of a set from QVC. this is probably my new favorite 'natural' looking mascara. It lengthens and volumizes, but does so while maintaining a natural look. It doesn't feel crunchy and (on me) doesn't smudge throughout the day.

While I do love some dramatic lashes, this is great paired with neutral/'no makeup' looks. It gives just enough 'oomph' to lashes while still looking natural. Love it!