Lush Breath of Fresh Air Toner ($7.95 to 17.45) is designed to re-hydrate dry skin while restoring your skin back to the correct pH balance. What I really love about all of Lush’s toners is that they come in handy spray-bottles. You can spritz on the go, on your face, or on a cotton pad–whatever you like–and you know you’re going to get the same amount. I find two spritzes onto a cotton pad to be perfect for half my face, then I repeat on the other side of the cotton pad to finish my face. One bottle seems to last forever–it’s definitely not a product you have to buy more than once or twice a year.
While some cleansers have made toning unnecessary, it’s still an easy step to keep to your beauty routine. I find that they are really helpful to ensure you’ve gotten every last vestige of your makeup off. If you have acne-prone skin like mine (which is terrible right, ugh!), you definitely do what you can to minimize the chance of setting off a breakout by keeping that skin clean before you go to bed! I also like that this toner really does not dry out your skin whatsoever or make it feel tight at all. It is a toner more suitable for those with dry skin, because it helps to soothe it.
The one thing I dislike about the toner is that there is perfume in the ingredients’ list. I really don’t know why it’s necessary, and I’m not sure why there isn’t a more natural way to make it smell acceptable. I just worry when perfume is listed anywhere but in the very last portion of an ingredients’ list!
Ingredients: Spring Water (Aqua), Fresh Sea Water (Aqua), Aloe Vera Gel (Aloe barbadensis), Perfume, Carrageenan Extract (Chondrus crispus), Rose Absolute (Rosa centifolia), Patchouli Oil (Pogostemon cablin), Rosemary Oil (Rosmarinus officinalis), Seaweed Absolute (Fucus vesiculosus), *Limonene, *Linalool, Methylparaben.
NARS Deep Throat Blush
During Sephora’s
Friends & Family Sale last November, I picked up two NARS blushes and Orgasm Lip Gloss. I opted for Deep Throat, even though I’ve owned it before, because I wanted to give it another shot. People say for those who don’t LOVE NARS Orgasm Blush to give Deep Throat a try instead. I don’t have Orgasm blush, but I do have Super Orgasm blush, which does work really well for me. I don’t find it too glittery at all! Dolce Vita caught my eye mostly for its name (some are suckers for packaging, I’m a sucker for product names, sigh!). I also bought Orgasm Lip Gloss, because so many of you recommended it to me–especially because it was similar to Cle de Peau’s #2 Lip Gloss.
Can you believe I’ve only worn Deep Throat blush once? And Dolce Vita has gotten a lil’ more love with two or three uses. They’re in my blush containers, which I so rarely access with all of the newer cheek products that come out lately (MAC, I’m looking at you!). Deep Throat is a darker, deeper pink with peachy-gold shimmer (and it isn’t the chunky shimmer like Super Orgasm, for those wondering). Dolce Vita looks surprisingly good on my skin tone; I was quite worried it would be too pigmented and more muddy than pretty on my cheeks. It would make a nice everyday blush for me, actually. It doesn’t have any shimmer (that I could tell), which is a bonus for those who are hunting for shimmer-free cheek colors!
Orgasm Lip Gloss is not quite a dupe for Cle de Peau’s #2 Lip Gloss, which is not to say that it isn’t a pretty color, though! I find the luxe lip gloss to be much more shimmery and golden-toned with just a slight pink-peach base, whereas Orgasm Lip Gloss has a darker gloss base and less noticeable shimmer. They’re both fantastic glosses, and Orgasm Lip Gloss is a nice way to get close to Cle de Peau for half the price.
Photos and swatches… Continue reading →
Gloss Pur: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
YSL’s Spring Look 2009 Collection is fun to review, because it is so different from many of the other spring launches this season. Do you remember how we had a lil’ sneak peek a few weeks ago of what was to come? Sure, you have some pastels typical to spring, but then you have such an intense, vivid black that totally negates how spring it is!
Temptalia Recommendations:
Must-haves: Gloss Pur in Pure Raspberry, Pure Lipstick in Romantic Pink, Ivory Beige/Deep Black
Nice-to-haves: Glosss Pur in Pure Fuchsia, Pure Lipstick in Silky Apricot
Skip: Collector Powders (Complexion and Eye), Oatmeal/Petroleum Blue
See a review breakdown of each product AND swatches… Continue reading →
Chanel Wild Rose Glossimer ($26.00) is the perfect color if you’ve been looking for a gloss that just subtly enhances your natural lip color by adding a slicked pinked blush and just-barely-visible shimmer to reflect light.
When I first swatched Wild Rose, it looked absolutely gorgeous and lush on the back of my hand. It also looked way more pigmented, so when I actually went to use it… it was not what I was expecting. My immediate reaction was “return, stat!” but since I don’t go to the mall too often, it’s still in my possession. After wearing it a few times, I’ve decided that it makes a nice go-to gloss for everyday wear aka when I’m too lazy to wear any makeup. I just brush this on and my lips look more alive, and my face is a bit brighter.
I like my-lips-but-better (MLBB) colors from time to time, and I do think everyone should have at least one gloss and one lipstick that fits the MLBB criteria. They are colors that will never go out of style, date you, make you look older or younger… they are natural and sophisticated. Exactly what we all need every once in awhile! 
See a lip swatch… Continue reading →
Among Guerlain’s Spring Exotic Paradise Collection, they also re-released their single eyeshadows–ten of them. They boast that these are the largest eyeshadows you can find, weighing in at 3.6 grams and priced at $34 each. I’m sure that number means nothing to you, so let’s compare to MAC’s eyeshadow, which is 1.5 grams at $14.50 a pop.
MAC Eyeshadow = $9.67 per gram
Guerlain Eyeshadow = $9.44 per gram
WHAT? How can that be? How can Guerlain be less expensive than MAC? Is the world falling to pieces? So yes, despite quibbling over $34 eyeshadows, you do get more for less on a per-gram-basis. Of course, many of us have dozens of eyeshadows, so the usability factor comes into play. I know that there are only a few eyeshadows that I’ve used so often that I’ve “hit pan” on, so the last thing I need as a selling point is anything being the largest eyeshadow on the market. It doesn’t hurt, though! I would rather get more bang for my buck–I’m certainly not complaining over the size. But I would be satisfied with a smaller price tag and a smaller eyeshadow, too. Enough on price–you’re not looking at Guerlain because it’s cheap–onto the colors!
Eyeshadow Breakdown
Precieux is a frosty white shade–far too white for me to pull off personally.
Charnel is a peachy shade, a color that I don’t feel is given enough due by cosmetic companies. I think it will make a nice highlighter as well as all-over-the-lid wash shade.
Fauve is a dirty strawberry-copper color. I like it, because it’s not a color I’ve seen dozens of times in the past six months.
Cuir is a gorgeous, warm-toned bronzy brown. It has subtle shimmer and it feels smooth and buttery when swatched. I really liked this, but I decided to pass because the Exotic Paradise quad has the most gorgeous brown ever.
Coquin is a soft, low-shimmer, pastel pink. As you can see, it doesn’t give a lot of color on my bare skin. I think it’s a lovely color, and over a good base, I think it would stand out more.
Fleuri is an almost-warm lavender with gold shimmer. It looks really lovely when swatched, and it has one of the best textures of the ten colors. I was all over this one, because it’s unlike other colors I own. If you have MAC’s Lotusland, you have something similar, but without the gold shimmer effect.
Fume is a soft brown-gray. This color may be a little dull or boring to look at, especially sandwiched between Fleuri and Emeraude, but it’s actually a very versatile shade. It’s a good color to own if you don’t already have something similar.
Emeraude is a gorgeous, silky deep olive green with gold sheen and shimmer. It has a lot of green in it, despite being deeper and having olive tones. I love greens, did you expect me to live without this?
Nuit is a smoky gray-black shade. For me, it didn’t swatch as nicely as the others, because it didn’t go on that pigmented, despite looking quite dark in the container. I didn’t find anything unique or standout about this shade, so it’s not on my must-have list.
Indigo is a dark medium blue with subtle sheen and not too much frost in its finish. Unfortunately, MAC completely oversaturated 2008 with this blue shade, so I’m all dark medium blue’d out. Guerlain’s Indigo looks and swatches pretty–nothing wrong with it–but I didn’t need this color so I skipped.
See more photos & swatches… Continue reading →
Guerlain’s Exotic Paradise Collection saw the release of four new shades of KissKiss Lipstick and four new shades of Kiss Kiss Maxi Shine Lipstick. All of the lipsticks retail for $30 a pop, which makes them pretty pricey for most of us. To be honest, I liked all of the new shades, but I wouldn’t say any of them are absolute must-haves.
I think the Maxi Shines are the perfect answer to anyone hunting for a subtly pigmented, sheer lipstick that goes on smoothly and gives a nice sheen. Grenadine Shine was particularly lovely for me, just because it is a subtle coral, making it an easy, everyday shade for me to wear. I was thinking Forever Beige would be a nice way to do a more neutral lip that wasn’t nude, but I wasn’t lovin’ how it turned out in my lips, so I’ll probably have to take that one back. On the other hand, Flushy Beige is a really lovely shade of rosy beige, which is incredibly natural-looking when applied but it amps up my natural lip color quite a bit. It makes my lips look slightly puckered, flushed, and subtly pink.
Right now, I’m leaning towards giong back and picking up Corial Passion and Baby Shine. I have some cool pink lipsticks, but they tend to be too cool to wear easily, so Baby Shine might give me a less intense cool pink to wear more often. Corail Passion is coral, and well, I love coral lipsticks–do I need to justify it anymore? 
See swatches & lip swatches! Continue reading →
