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.**

Bath and Body Works Holiday Traditions 2011 Review

The other day I hit up BBW to check out the holiday traditions scents. The usual contenders Vanilla Bean Noel and Winter Candy Apple are back. Twisted Peppermint is set to arrive in a limited release in December although some products are showing on the web site. The new scent this year is Pink Sugarplum.

Vanilla Bean Noel has that same familiar comforting caramel vanilla scent. It's very creamy and delicious smelling. It has notes of caramel, burnt sugar, vanilla, tonka bean, and musk. I got the minis in this scent. I have a ton of shower gel and it takes me forever to go through a mist. I may go back for a full size cream or lotion.

Winter Candy Apple is my favorite. It has notes of candy apple, orange zest, maple, cinnamon, neroli, rose, winter musk, orris, oakmoss. Sounds really weird when you look at the notes but there is just something about this scent that I love. It's like a candy apple with a bite. It always makes me think of the cold weather and holiday season. I grabbed the regular sized shower gel, regular sized cream, and the mini mist. I will be getting a full size of this mist too.

Pink Sugarplum is a nice scent. It has notes of Chambord, champagne, sparkling tangerine, red hibiscus, white nectarine, black currant, juicy passionfruit, plum wood, sugared musk, vanilla extract, ambroxan. The best way I can describe this is that it's a very pink scent. On dry down of the lotion I'm getting the passionfruit, the vanilla, and the sugared musk. Some people claimed that this scent was super sweet, but I'm not getting that. It's a pretty scent, but it's just not very unique. Reminds me of a Victoria's Secret Garden scent. I have the mini lotion and shower gel. I don't think I'll be getting any other products in this scent other than maybe a hand soap at some point.

I really like how Bath and Body Works has been offering the limited scents in the smaller travel sizes. They did the same for the fall limited releases. It's a great way to try out the scent and for those products that take forever to get through, such as mist, it's nice to be able to not have to make the commitment on regular sized items all the time. This is especially true for a scent that you'll only be using seasonally. They are great to stash in your purse, plus being able to get them when they are 3 for $10 is a plus. I hope they continue this trend.

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

What's in my QVC Beauty Test Tube October 2011 - Photos

It's QVC beauty test tube time. I'm subscribed to the autodelivery for the QVC beauty test tube program. The way the program works is that QVC and New Beauty magazine partnered together to offer beauty test tube with deluxe samples of products that are sold at QVC. This is different then the test tube that New Beauty offers on its own and actually I think it's better. The regular New Beauty test tube seems to be more skin care centered, where the QVC test tube seems to be a better mixture of beauty products.


For about $39 every 3-4 months, you get a test tube filled with deluxe samples and some full sized products. There is some variation on kit item colors in some cases. I'll highlight these as we go. Now without further ado, my October Beauty Test Tube.

It includes the following items:

New Beauty Magazine

Supersmile Whitening Toothpaste (1.75 oz)

Algenist Regenerative Anti-aging moisturizer (0.5 oz.)

Perricone MD Firming Neck Therapy (0.25 oz)

Philosophy Snow Angel 3 in 1 (2 oz.)

Mally Evercolor Starlight Eyeliner - Shades vary - I got Milk Chocolate - Full Sized

Laura Geller Baked Eyeshadow - Shades vary - I got Shadow/Liner in Sugar Plum/Plum Pudding

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil (0.17 oz)

Wen Cleansing Conditioner in Winter Vanilla Mint (6 oz.)

I'm always game for trying a new whitening toothpaste. I've seen this on QVC before and always was curious how well it works. Guess I'll get a chance to find out now.

No parabens, sulfates, synthetic dyes or fragrances and it's formulated with alguronic acid which I've never heard of. I'll give it a try.

 

Perricone's firming neck therapy. I'll give it a try. As you can tell, I'm less excited about the skincare products. Now on to the good stuff.

I'm a huge philosophy fan, but I've never gotten around to trying this scent. So I was very excited to see a 3 in 1 of it in my tube. It's a blue frosty pretty gel and it says it's supposed to smell like fresh fallen snow. I really like this. It smells really clean but not perfumey. Kind of hard to describe but I can definitly understand the connection to the snow scent.

Everyone always raves about Mally's eyeliners so I was happy to have a chance to try one out. This is a full sized eyeliner. It seems like there is a chance the item color may vary on this one. The brochure shows a black and a copper color as well. I got the basic brown one which I'm happy about since brown is a color I reach for regularly for eyeliner.

I love Laura Geller products. This is another full sized product and it looks like this may be another product that the color varies by kit. I'm happy with this combo. This liner side is a gorgeous reddish brown and the eyeshadow side is nice mauvey shade when the colors are blended together. I can tell this will be a very useful duo for me.

Another product that there is a ton of buzz on is Josie Maran's Argan Oil. I've never had a chance to try this out but I've always been curious about her's because it's 100% pure organic argan oil. That's it. There are no added ingredients in the product. You can use it on your hair to help dry ends or flyaways and if you have dry skin, it can help hydrate. Looking forward to giving this a try.

And lastly we have a preview bottle of the winter seasonal scent of cleansing conditioner from Wen. I've had mixed results with Wen. I really like the Lavender and the Tea Tree Oil formulas, but I just can't get over how much product I have to use to cleanse my hair with it so I'm not a regular user. I'm looking forward to indulging with this though. It smells like BBW twisted peppermint. A really nice smooth vanilla mint scent.

So that's my beauty test tube for October. Very pleased with what I got and I really think you get your money's worth with these kits. It's so fun to get a surprise in the mail and have it be a lot of really cool items in deluxe sample sizes to try out. I'm glad I decided to go ahead and hop on the auto delivery schedule for this.

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

Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencil Stash Photos and Swatches

Another item that I picked up recently is the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Shadow Pencil Stash. This is part of Urban Decay's holiday collection and when I saw this kit, I knew it would be mine. I had been wanting to try out the Urban Decay shadow sticks for months now, but I could never bring myself to buy them as singles. The full sized singles retail for $20 each which is pretty steep. This shadow pencil stash retails for just $34 and includes 5 "travel-sized' pencils. These are not itty bitty pencils by any means. If you've been wanting to try these out, this set is a great way to do so.

The set includes 5 pencils as follows:

Delinquent - Deep purple with purple/pink sparkles
Rehab - Bronze Brown
Juju - Frosted Taupe (If Rehab and Sin had a baby)
Sin - Champagne
Clash - Turquoise with silver sparkle

The only color that is limited edition is Juju. The others are part of the regular UD lineup. These shadow sticks are really awesome. They glide on like butter and have great payoff. Most importantly they stay put. Even the two that have glitter, Clash and Delinquent, are awesome because the glitter stays put! No more fall out all over your cheek. So far, I've worn Sin as an all over lid color and had good results. No creasing and it stayed put all afternoon and night.

From Top to Bottom - Clash, Sin, Juju, Rehab, Delinquent

Close up of Clash

Close up of Delinquent and Rehab

Close up of Rehab, Juju, and Sin - These are so smooth and don't have any glitter

One more shot of them all together

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