Last night I had to go to Nordstrom to return a pair of shoes. I invited a friend of mine who lives near the mall. The pull of Sephora was too strong so before heading off to dinner we stopped in. I knew what I needed, need being used very loosely. All I went in with the intention of getting was a new pencil sharpener and some tan nail polish. Instead I ended up with two eyeliners, a blush, three polishes, and a pencil sharpener. That friend who came along? She bought nothing. Apparently she possess something called will power. I've never heard of it.
The benefit though of me being completely unable to say no to the most perfect pinks and liner that goes on effortlessly is I get to share my finds with all of you!
I already confessed how in love with gel blush I am right now. I can't get over how stupid I feel for not having tried this stuff out sooner. I've tested a few kinds and the Tarte gel blush is by far the most awesome. Right now they have a limited edition tenth anniversary color that is fantastic. It's a light shimmery (not glittery, big difference) pink that is meant to look perfect on everyone. I'm not sure if it holds true to that claim but it sure looks lovely on me.
Tarte also has a new eyeliner called EmphasEYES aqua-gel liner. It's very pigment rich and meant to not smudge or move. I was playing with it last night and tried it out on my hand. Forgetting to wash it off before bed, I woke up with it in the exact same place. Color me impressed.
It's also really soft so it goes on smoothly and pain free. I've never understood how people can use super sharp, hard eyeliner. The tip is tiny though so you still have the option to have a very fine line. The formula is gentle enough you can use it on the inner rims of your eyelids and, another plus, there's no sharpeners or brushes needed. I bought the plum and charcoal colors. The plum is a really gorgeous dark purple and the charcoal is a dark gray that's a bit softer than black. There are plenty of other colors as well though.
Nail polish is a huge weakness for me. It's usually fairly inexpensive, the selection is incredible, and there's not a lot of risk involved. I love nail polish.
I tend to go through phases though. I spent 2005 wearing a baby pink polish by Maybelline on my toenails. Summer of '07 was all about the shimmery orange polish on the toes for me. Fall and Winter '09 I snatched up every almost black Chanel polish available and worked the rocker chic thing. As soon as Spring of '09 hit I started wearing Mica Rose by Chanel and have only made a few brief detours from doing so since. Now though, I am way into tan. Shimmery, full of depth, a single layer more vastly changes the color, sophisticated, gorgeous tan. Last night, I was on a mission for the perfect tan to carry me into Fall.
I ended up with three colors. A slightly darker mauve-y tan with gold shimmer called Under My Trench Coat, a lighter silver shimmer tan called Run With It!, and green. I've never been someone who wears blue or green polish. I'm usually about subtlety and class. But this green...incredible. I really can't wait to wear it. It's a golden moss green that's even more gorgeous on than in the bottle called Leaf Him at the Alter.
Now who's going makeup shopping?
Ooooh...I love the idea of wearing tan on my toenails. I never thought of that before! I may have to give it a whirl!
ReplyDeleteCan you just rebuy everything you bought and send it my way?
ReplyDeleteI can't get out of Sephora for less that $250. Hence - my husband will not let me in the store :P
I remember reading on DoCo that you aren't using powder make-up anymore (or at least not as much), hence the gel blush, etc. I currently use Bare Minerals on my face, but I totally get your point about not wanting to look powdery in the summer. So may I ask what you're using on your face? I have a feeling it might work for me, too, because I'm a pale girl as well : )
ReplyDeleterandi, I really like it. I forgot to bring polish with me last time I got my nails done so I picked a tan they had there. I'm loving it.
ReplyDeleteurbancowgirl, I shouldn't even walk in there. I planned on spending less than $20 and instead walked out with all that. The good thing though is I really love all of it.
Liz, I use Bobbi Brown's Protective Face Lotion as a moisturizer with the Hydrating Eye Cream under my eyes. I don't have super oily or dry skin so that sort of just keeps things normal for me. At one point I stopped using moisturizer and my skin was pretty unhappy with me. After only a couple days of using those two products it was back to normal. For foundation I use Bobbi's Skin Foundation in Porcelain. If you have someone color match you make sure they put a swipe on and wait a minute to let the heat from your skin have an effect on the color. I also use Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Cool Sand. It took me a long time to find a concealer I liked after Bobbi reformulated one of theirs. I tried Dior, Laura Mercier, Stila, Lancome, YSL...the list goes on. I'm really glad I stumbled upon this one though because it's even better than what I was using before.
Other than that I really just do the gel blush, a liquid luminizer, some mascara, and lip gloss. If I'm going out or not in a rush then I'll do eye liner and I love to play with lipsticks on the weekends but I've pretty much stopped wearing shadow with the exception of a dab of something shimmery in the corner of my eye to make me look less tired.