Barbara's October Favorites - BE Ready, Lea Journo, Tarte, and more

Well, I wanted to take a chance and post my monthly favorites for October. This is kind of like the monthly favorites that are done on Youtube in that these are products that I've been using throughout the month of October and loving. I've purchased all of these products with my own money and these are my honest opinions.  



My monthly favorites for October are:

Bare Escentuals Original Foundation

Bare Escentuals Ready Eyeshadows

Bare Escentuals Prime Time For Eyes

Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara

Lea Journo Hydrating Conditioner

First up, Bare Escentuals Original foundation. I've used Bare Escentuals over the last 10 years. I'm a BE Addict and I just overall love this foundation. The coverage, the wearability, the sun protection, the feel, and the natural ingredients make this a product I continue to come back to. I had taken a small hiatus from BE foundation for awhile over the summer. My usual medium color was not matching up correctly because of my skin tone being warmer in the summer. I finally got a jar of medium beige and that worked out just fine. I am back on the BE foundation bandwagon. This is just an excellent product and if you hate the feel of regular makeup, you definitly need to give mineral makeup a try.

Next up, the new Bare Escentuals Ready shadows. I realize I did not swatch this, silly me. I will get the hang of this at some point. Above is the Bare Escentuals Ready Truth Quad. I have just fallen in love with the Ready shadows this month. In fact, this probably should have been first on my list. These shadows go on like silk, have great pigmentation, and excellent wearability. Combine that with the fact that they have the addition of a sea nutritive complex that is supposed to help smooth out your eyelids and how can you go wrong? I have been slowly buying different palettes of these over the month with all the 20% off codes going around and I currently have all the quads, two of the 2.0s, and the playlist 8.0. I just love these and I think everyone should try them out.



Next up, Bare Escentuals Prime Time For Eyes Primer. Take your pick, regular primer or primer shadow, these products are equally fantastic. They help the Ready Shadows or any shadow last all day. The Primer Shadows have great pigmentation and the Urban Nature is one that I've been reaching for a lot this past month. It's an interesting shade with tones of grey, moss, and a pink duocrome. I did take a swatch of this one:



It's very hard to capture the complexity of this color, but it's just gorgeous. I've been using it all over the lid with a little dove eyeshadow on top and then darker colors like plums in the crease and it's been working out great. 

 

This is a product that came in my August QVC beauty test tube. It's the Lea Journo hydrating conditioner. I've been loving this. It was a generous sized sample as I was able to use it over 5 times and I can safely say that when I'm out, I will be buying the full size. The packaging concept is pretty interesting. It's made this way so you don't have to struggle with a plastic bottle, trying to get the product out. You just squeeze out what you need and when you get to the bottom, you should be able to get out every last drop. This stuff hydrates my hair wonderfully. It leaves my hair feeling like silk, but not over-moisturized. It's infused with French plum oil which is responsible for the moisturization and silkening properties.



The last product on my favorites list is the Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara. I've been getting these in my Tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous sets and I finally cracked open the first one. I can see what the fuss is about with this product. The formula is not clumpy, but it's not too dry either. I feel like it works great to darken each of my lashes and definitely makes my lashes stand out. I woudn't say it gives you a false lashes look, cause no mascara really does that, but it does enhance and thicken the appearance of the lashes. The brush is really just a normal looking mascara brush. Maybe there are more bristles which help distribute the product well? It's a mystery, but I've been loving this mascara this past month.

So that wraps up my favorites for October 2011. I hope to do these types of posts each month, highlighting what I've been loving. Let me know if any of these products are currently on your favorites list as well.

Bare Escentuals Ready 8.0 Palette - The Playlist - Photos and Swatches

I've been really loving the new formula of the Bare Escentuals Ready shadows. I think having Bare Escentuals Shadows in pan form makes getting ready in less time so much better. So, when they new Ready 8.0 palettes were available during the last preview night, I took advantage and picked up the Playlist palette.

The holiday palettes come in a gold case. So pretty.

The palette does not disappoint. As with all the Ready shadows, these glide on like butter and have great pigmentation. Now for some closeups of the shadows.

Pumped and Chart Topper

Max Volume and Louder

One Hit Wonder and Most Requested

Remix and Speaker Box



And we can't forget the all important swatches

From Top to Bottom - Speaker Box, Remix, Most Requested, One Hit Wonder, Louder, Max Volume, Chart Topper, Pumped

From Top to Bottom - Louder, Max Volume, Chart Topper and Pumped

From Top to Bottom - Speaker Box, Remix, Most Requested, One Hit Wonder

Overall, this is a warm palette. There are two 8.0 palettes coming out for the holiday season. The other palette is more on the cool side. Something about the colors palette of the playlist one above drew me in though.

These Ready shadows are just fantastic. I've got quite a few of them in my arsenal and have been using them all last month. In fact, they will be one of the items I'm including in my October Favorites list which I will be posting soon.

The size of the shadows are slightly smaller than the size you get in the regular duos and quads. However, they are not small by any means. Don't throw away the little slip that is included in the box without checking it out. It includes three different look suggestions using the colors in the palette.

If you haven't tried out the Ready shadows, but are intrigued by the concept, I think the 8.0 palettes are a great way to experiment with them. Just pick your color palette preference, cool or warm, and you'll get 8 great shadows that can be combined in a number of ways.

Shoedazzle October 2011 Haul - Pictures and Review

So I recently decided to try out Shoedazzle. If you are not familiar with Shoedazzle, it's kind of a monthly shoe club. They have shoes, purses, jewelry sets and miscellaneous items they call dazzle deals. Everything on the site goes for $39.95. When you join the site, you take a style quiz and based on your responses, they pre-select 5 shoes, 5 purses, and 5 jewelry sets to recommend to you each month. You can request alternate selections if you aren't feeling anything that's recommended to you. You can also view shoes that almost made the cut and as well, they feature other shoes as the month progresses. In the end you get to see most of the shoes that were available for the month.

If you don't feel like getting anything, you have the option to skip out before the 5th of the month. Just make sure you opt to skip by the 5th of the month so you don't get charged the $39.95. If you do get charged, they will put a credit on your account that is good for 1 year for any item they offer.

Now on to what I picked out for October

First up - the Carringtons in grey.

These are great looking faux patent grey pumps. The heel is the perfect height and these fit my size 11 feet great. They are a little squeaky when you walk in them and I needed to put those traction sticker things underneath the ball of the foot to get a little more stability when walking. Otherwise these are great basic pumps for work.

Next up, the Upton bag in black

This bag is really a nice bag. It's faux leather, but the quality on it is great. It's still buttery soft and could honestly be mistaken for real leather. It's a great size. Not overly large but then again I am 6 foot tall so if you are smaller it may feel like a bigger bag. 

And lastly, I got the Shalene's in Grey

The picture came out a little dark, but these boots rock! When I saw these at the beginning of the month, I wanted them immediately. However, I mistakenly read the calf measurement and thought they wouldn't fit me. Later in the month, when I went back on the site I realized these are just mid-calf boots so they end right below the muscular portion of your calf. So I realized they should indeed fit! I ordered them right up. They are a little on the narrower side in the footbed, but fortunately I don't have wide feet so that wasn't an issue. Just have to make sure I don't wear thick socks with them and I'm fine. 

I did also place an order for the Ciji's earlier in the month, but sadly they were just way too small for me. So I had to send those back.

Overall, I've been really pleased with Shoedazzle. I'm also a member on Sole Society, but I find Shoedazzle has a better variety of shoes. Also, not every shoe is a 5 inch heel. It seems like 5 out of the 6 shoes I get recommended on Sole Society each month are 5 inch heels. I'm 6 foot tall, I don't need the height. What is also nice with Shoedazzle is you can put in requests for the coming month so you can specify whether you are looking for a particular heel height, color family, whether you want casual, business, going out shoes, etc. I think this really helps so you actually are shown shoes that interest you.

My only request to them is that they start carrying some wider calf widths on their knee length boots for those of us with more muscular legs. As well, offering size 12s would be great too so in the event a shoe is running small, us 11s can size up if need be.

**All items were purchased by me. I'm not affiliated with any companies mentioned.**

Smashbox Photo Op Mega Palette - Exclusive to QVC - Photos and Swatches

So, I was very happy when UPS rolled up to my house yesterday and delivered my Smashbox Photo Op Mega Palette. This palette is exclusive to QVC for the holidays and I think Smashbox did a really good job on it.

While the packaging on this looks huge on screen, it's actually no bigger than about the size of a large edition paperback book.

Inside the case you get a ton of colors! This palette includes the following:

• 56 photo-op eyeshadows (This kit includes ALL (that's right, ALL) of the photo op trios that are out for retail sale along with 4 shades from the Soft box palette and 4 shades from the Stage One palette.
• 4 Brow Tech Powders and 1 brow tech wax
• 8 cream eyeliners
• 2 blushes and 3 Softlights
• 4 Lipglosses

It's important to note that the photo-op trios retail for $28 a piece. There are 16 of them in this palette and it's worth an additional note that the actual amount of product you get per eyeshadow in the palette is a bit more than is included in the trio pans. That should help you get an idea of the value that this palette offers. It's easily over $500 worth of product if you were to go out and try to purchase these separately.

The palette sells for $93.48 on qvc.com. I bought it when it was slightly cheaper at the TSV price.

Now for some swatches:

The four Softbox Shades - From left to right Minx, Fizz, Pebble and Sienna

The Develop Trio - Left to Right - Royal, Zoom, and Oyster

The Telephoto Trio - Vapor, Amethyst, and Nocturnal

The Light Speed Trio - Butter, Azure, Peacock

The 2 blushes - Posy Pink and Warm Apricot

This palette does not disappoint. I'm very happy I picked it up. I'm glad that it seems that Smashbox stayed true to the formula and did not cut corners on this kit in order to bring us a lower price point. The kit is made in the USA and the formulas are on par with the original trios as far as I can tell. (I actually went to the store the day that this palette was on QVC to test out the formula before purchasing.)

I like how each part has a protective plastic sheet that covers it so that the colors don't mix when shut. It's also nice that the kit was set up so that each trio is together. It makes it very easy to see which colors to combine and not get "lost" in the palette which sometimes can happen with this type of palette. It's also nice that these are all colors you can buy again if you end up using up a set.

If you are someone that has several of the trios already, this probably isn't the product for you. I had not used a Smashbox product in a while though and hadn't been paying too much attention to them lately to be honest. So I did not own any of the photo op shadows. As such, this was a great deal for me to be able to get them all in one shot and be able to play with the new formulation.

The middle section of the palette is really a bonus for me. The eyeshadows were the big draw (I'm a sucker for shadows). The blushes have great pigmentation and you'll need to use a light hand with them. The softlights are great for highlighting as always. Not sure how I feel about the cream products being included. I think the plastic covering will help keep the eyeshadows out of them and help them not get too messy. I also don't mind that they included all the brow tech powders. It allows you to play around with them and mix to get the right intensity/shade.

So overall, I'm really happy with this palette. I think the price is right for the quality and amount of product that is included. If you are looking to overhaul your makeup collection or possibly give a gift to a girlfriend who is just starting out with makeup, this would be perfect. Or, if you are just a makeup junkie like myself and haven't had a chance to try out the new Smashbox formula, go ahead and indulge yourself.

**All items were purchased by me. I'm not affiliated with any companies mentioned.**

Bare Escentuals Bare Luxury - QVC TSV November 2011 - Photos and Swatches

I recently hopped on the upcoming Bare Escentuals QVC TSV Auto-delivery series and took advantage of the pre-order number to get the first kit in advance of the live presentation. I'll admit at first I was a little ho-hum about the colors in the kit, but once I swatched them and started playing, I have to say this kit is great. The kit will be available during Bare Escentuals visit to QVC in November as their TSV. It will be available for $49.98 as either a single shipment or part of the auto-delivery plan. The auto-delivery plan will get you an additional 3 shipments in April, July, and October 2012 with all new colors in each kit. And now, on to the photos:

This kit contains the following:

Exclusive Ready 2.0 Shadow Duo in The Phenomenon

New Marvelous Moxie Lipglosses in Wild One and Dare Devil

New Round the Clock Waterproof Eyeliners in 10 PM and Noon

Rose Gold Radiance All Over Face Color

Full Tapered Shadow Brush

Flawless Application Face Brush

Luxe Gold Clutch

It just occured to me now that I did not include the brushes in the shot. They have gold handles that match the Ready 2.0 compact and lipgloss applicators.

The Phenomenon Ready 2.0 Duo - Azure Iris on the Left, Golden Iris on the Right

From Left to Right - Rose Gold Radiance, Dare Devil Gloss, Noon Liner Shadow, Azure Iris, Golden Iris, 10 PM Liner Shadow, Wild One Lipgloss

Close up of Rose Gold Radiance

The cool toned look - Dare Devil Gloss, Noon Liner, and Azure Iris Shadow

The warm toned look - Golden Iris Shadow, 10 PM Liner, and Wild One Gloss



The idea behind the kit is that you get two different looks, one warm/neutral and one cool/neutral. I really like the idea behind this because I am beyond stocked up on basics like mascara and mineral veil. It's refreshing to have a kit that has just core color products and can provide two different looks. The only basics in the kit are the brushes and who can't use nice new brushes?

These shades didn't look like much when I pulled them out of the packaging but when swatched they are just gorgeous. Some color details and first impressions:

• Azure Iris is a gorgeous lavender shade. Pigmentation is great and the shadow feels buttery smooth.
• Golden Iris is a bronzey gold color. This shade is more metallic than the Azure Iris and the pigmentation was stronger on this one.
• Noon Liner is a deep navy shade with no shimmer.
• 10 PM is a medium brown with slight gold shimmer.
• Wild One lipgloss is a peach shade with slight gold shimmer. Appears nude on the lips.
• Dare Devil is a deep berry shade with slight pink and gold shimmer. It gives the lips a nice berry sheen.
• Rose Gold Radiance is a medium pink with gold shimmer.

I really like the new formulations that Bare Escentuals has come out with. These shadows, alike the other new Ready Shadows, are just as buttery smooth and have great pigmentation. I love the fact that I can reach for my favorite mineral shadow formula in pan form. Makes getting ready in the morning so much quicker.

These new waterproof liners remind me a lot of the Urban Decay 24/7 liner formula in that they glide on with no effort. They are creamy and will not tug in the least.

The new lipgloss formula is very promising. I think I like these more than the Buxom glosses. They have a vanilla mint scent and feel nice on the lips. The scent/feel is not as powerful as the scent on the Buxom glosses. The glosses are not overly tacky but they feel like they will last a decent amount of time on the lips.

The clutch is a nice extra. It's actually a decent size and has a magnetic closure. I could see myself using this if I had a party to go to or an event I had to get dressed up for.

Overall, I'm more than pleased with this kit. I was on the fence before it got here. Now that I have had a chance to look at the products in more detail and swatch them, I'm very happy I got this kit and look forward to the future installments in the auto delivery plan.

**All items were purchased by me. I'm not affiliated with any companies mentioned.**

Bare Escentuals And Away We Glow... Kit - Photos and Swatches

I recently picked up the Bare Escentuals And Away We Glow... kit during the September BE preview day. I've been a little slow to swatch it but pulled it out today. This kit is gorgeous!!! It may look subdued, but these colors make a real elegant combination.

The kit retails for $54 and is part of the Bare Escentuals Holiday Lineup. You can pick the kit up at http://www.bareescentuals.com/ or look for it in your nearest department store. The kit contains the following items:

New Full Size Round the Clock Waterproof Eyeliner in Midnight

Full Size Flawless Definition Mascara in Black

Full Size Pretty Amazing Lipgloss in Flair

Full Size Prime Time Primer Shadow in Dove Grey

Wet/Dry Shadow Brush

Contour Blush Brush

Full Size Swanky Eyecolor

Full Size Luxury Blush

Full Size Turn-On Highlighter

From left to right: Turn-On Highlighter, Luxury Blush, Swanky Eyecolor, Dove Grey Primer, Flair PA Gloss, Midnight Liner

Left to right - Turn-On Highlighter, Luxury Blush

Left to Right - Swanky Eyecolor, Dove Grey Primer, Flair PA Gloss, Midnight Liner

All colors were swatched dry on bare skin. No primer. Amazing payoff.

This kit is just gorgeous. I don't know why it took me so long to crack this open. I don't think I can pick a favorite item out of this kit. The primer shadow, eyeshadow, blush, highlighter, and gloss are all amazing.

• The highlight provides a nice peachy pink sheen.
• Luxury blush is a pink coral shade. I had to build this one up on my arm to get it to show but it's a gorgeous color.
• Swanky eyecolor is a slightly off-white shimmery color with white sparkles.
• Dove Grey is a taupe grey with a hint of pink. I think this is in the same family as Urban Nature which I also love.
• Flair is a peach nude color gloss - very wearable.
• Midnight is your basic black liner but this new formulation is waterproof and formulated with Vitamin E to care for the eye area.
• The brushes are both very soft. I believe this is the same brush hairs that were used in last holiday's kits.

All in all, this is a great kit and I will be wearing it tomorrow!

**All items were purchased by me. I'm not affiliated with any companies mentioned.**

Julep Maven - American Beauty Intro Box - October 2011 Photos

I recently signed up for another monthly sample program. This one is the Julep Maven. It focuses on nail treatments and the cost is $19.99 per monthly box. My intro box that I got below cost me just $5 because I used the code First5. The first box that I got has a retail value of $78, but subsequent monthly boxes are set to be over $40 worth of product. If you love nail polish and manicure/pedicure items, this is a fun program.

When you first join the site, you fill out a style questionnaire. Based on your answers you are placed into a particular grouping. I got placed in the American Beauty group. They then show you what your intro box will contain. You can retake the quiz as many times as you want if you want to see what other boxes contain. I was fine with the selection so I went ahead. My box contains:

Nail Color Alfre - A metallic lavender gray shade. From their Fall 2011 lineup
Nail Color Cameron - A fun bright pink shade
Julep Essential Cuticle Oil
Julep Facial for Hands Glycolic Hand Scrub
Two sample packets of the glycolic scrub and spf 30 hand cream

The items come packaged in a paper bag with a ribbon tied at the top:

Alfre Nail Polish

Cameron Nail Polish

Glycolic Hand Scrub

Julep Cuticle Oil

Sample Packets of SPF 30 hand cream and glycolic scrub



Overall I was pleased with my box. I thought the Cameron shade was an odd pick given that it's fall and I'm very unlikely to grab a shade like this to wear. I really like the Alfre color and can see myself using this shade a lot though. The cuticle oil is nice. It has a rollerball dispenser so you don't end up getting too much product on your nails. It sinks in fast and has a nice light lemony scent. The glycolic scrub has a medium degree of scrubiness to it. It's not overly rough but it feels like it does a descent job exfoliating. It must be the inclusion of the glycolic acid that helps. I'm not sure if it will be strong enough for me during the winter months, but hopefully with continued use my hands won't get that bad during the winter.

The nice thing about this sample program is that you have the ability to see the items they are going to pick for you each month and if you don't like the items, you can request another box. You also have the option of skipping months or sending the box on to a friend.


**All items were purchased by me. I'm not affiliated with any companies mentioned.**

Bare Escentuals Box of Gems - Holiday 2011 - Swatches and Pictures

So I recently picked up the Bare Escentuals Box of Gems Collection from QVC. This is part of Bare Escentuals Holiday 2011 lineup and it features 10 NEW eyeshadow minis, 5 travel sized Buxom Lipglosses, and 5 travel sized 100% natural lipglosses. All of the lipglosses are previously released colors.

The eyecolors that come with the collection are as follows:

Sparkling - White with pink/white sparkles

Jewel - Medium Berry with blue/purple/white sparkles

Locket - Deep Purple with blue sparkles

Solitaire - Medium Gray with white/blue sparkles

Incandescent - Taupe with blue/green sparkles

Gleam - Satin Peach Sheen

Gem - Forest Green with green sparkles

Glow - Peach with gold/white sparkles

Twinkle - Plum Brown with gold sparkles

Beam - Medium Blue with blue sparkles

Left Column, Top to Bottom = Sparkling, Gleam, Glow

Middle Column, Top to Bottom = Jewel, Solitaire, Gem, Twinkle

Right Column, Top to Bottom = Locket, Incandescent, Beam

Left to Right = Solitaire, Locket, Jewel, Sparkling

Left to Right = Incandescent, Gleam, Gem

Left to Right = Glow, Twinkle, Beam

Top Row - Natural Lipglosses = Cranberry Sorbet, Angel Food Cake, Energy Drink, Sprinkles, Apple Butter

Second Row - Buxom Glosses = Betty, Dani, Kanani, Gaby, Sandy

Natural Lipglosses Left to Right = Cranberry Sorbet, Angel Food Cake, Energy Drink, Sprinkles, Apple Butter

Buxom Glosses - Betty, Dani, Kanani, Gaby, Sandy

Overall, I'm really please with this kit. Who can resist ten new eyecolors from BE? There are a nice range of shades too with some more natural colors and some fun bright shades. I lucked out in that I did not previously own five of the glosses, so for me the fact that these were previously released was okay. It would have been nice to have a couple of new shades in the kit though.

The fill levels on the eyeshadows in my kit were good. The only one that was only half full was Gem. That sometimes happens with the deeper saturated colors as BE fills the jars by weight.

My favorite eyecolor is probably incandescent. It's just a gorgeous taupe shade. I really like Glow too. These both have a really pretty almost metallic sheen to them. I really was not disappointed with any of the eye colors.

My favorite lippie is probably Gaby. She is just a gorgeous rosy brown plum color with gold sparkles. Very holiday appropriate. The most dissapointing glosses are the angel food cake and the sprinkles ones as they are mainly clear with some sparkle. Dani was also very lightly pigmented.

This kit is exclusive to QVC and retails for $79.92 plus shipping and tax.

**All items were purchased by me. I'm not affiliated with any companies mentioned.**