Tarte Gallery Gals Deluxe Tarteist™ Eyeliner Set ::: Review & Swatches ||| Holiday 2016

I have wanted to try this formula ever since Tarte released it some time ago. Now that they put 2 mini size of the liners in a cute little box with a liner brush for just $19, you have to grab it during the VIB Sale! Am I right?

Availibility: You can buy this from Sephora and Tarte Cosmetics. 

Price: For 19$ you get two of Tarte’s waterproof cream clay paint liners. The shades here are black and bronze each with 0.10 oz. It also comes with a mini angled liner brush! As you can see from the picture, it is housed in a cute, little box which is not really “holiday-themed” but I love it. I think it is more practical and you can use it as a birthday or any other type of gift as well! I am actually thinking about re-using it to store/display my beauty blender. I have a hope that it will work great. I personally think you get very little amount of product. But overall, I think it is still an ok price. “Bronze” is a limited-edition shade but the black matte shade is available permanently in full-size.

Pigmentation & Wear-time: The black shade is very, very pigmented. It’s very matte as well, I don’t have a matte black eyeliner so I am really liking it. It is creamy and blend-able enough for to use the brush it came with to apply this. I am more of a “liquid-eyeliner” pen kind-a girl! Obviously a gel-type black shade with tiny brush is a bit intimidating for me; I am still struggling to get a crisp edge for my winged liner. I guess I have to practice more! Staying power is very impressive as well; on my upper lash line, it stayed the entire time but it was kind of easy to wash off with a makeup remover. I appreciate that. However the thing that impressed me most was its wear time on my lower water line. I slept off with this for a quick nap and it was still intact :-)

The bronze shade is pigment-wise a tad bit weaker.

Shades:

Black- Matte and very black. I love it.

Bronze- It looks like it has a little bit of sheen but it doesn’t really show when applied on the lid. My favorite is the black one, obviously!

I have tried different eyeliner formulas from Tarte before and they has never let me down. I really like these as well! However, if you already have a lot of eyeliner I would not really encourage you to run out and buy these. Mainly because it comes with so little product. But if you already bought these, I am sure you will quite enjoy it!

Love

~Arrru

Play! by Sephora ::: August 2016

When I opened my blog today, I realized my last post was published on Monday, Aug 8th. I have not posted anything in two weeks and for some reason my subconscious mind chose to completely ignore this fact! I really apologize for that :-(

Today, I have the Play by Sephora Subscription Box for August to discuss. This is my fourth month getting this box and honestly, it has not been as great I had hoped for. I was not at all thrilled by this month's box and hence I did not even have the enthusiasm to take better picture in better light. This months theme was "Eyes" and I like that I did not get another hair product. But I am a little disappointed as I was really waiting in anticipation for some great playful products for the eyes :-)

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Shadow in I-544: I love this brand. It is a very professional and very artistic brand. I have a palette from them (reviewed here). Although, I don't reach for that palette often, I know that they are some great shadows. This is a nice cool pewter shade and I think every skin-tone will be able to pull it off. I like to apply this with my finger tips. These are very costly individually and this will surely last you for quite some time.

SEPHORA COLLECTION Contour Eye Pencil 12hr Wear Waterproof in Love Affair: It is a very deep plum shade; very nice alternative for black eyeliner shade. It is an average eyeliner, nothing that makes me super happy. It is waterproof but I have not really tested thatt out.

URBAN DECAY Perversion Mascara: This comes with a nice fluffy wand and it gave me a natural fluttery look. It is supposed to be lengthening and volumizing but quite honestly I don't really see much of either. I do like natural eyelashes so I am not really disappointed. However it is not something that I would go out and buy in full size.

ALGENIST Eye Renewal Balm: I have tried a very few of Algenist products in sample sizes and in general, I never had great luck. I have not tried this balm yet, but it is a very decent size jar so that is good! I will update my experience here when I use it.

LANCOME Energie De Vie Smoothing & Glowing Liquid Care Moisturizer: Now, this sounds promising. It's from Lancome so definitely a costly product. Plus, it is a lightweight moisturizer. The consistency of it is described to be thinner than moisturizer but thicker than an essence. That sounds really good especially for summer. But it is such a tiny size. That kind of irritates me a little bit.

CLEAN Reserve Warm Cotton: I typically love Clean perfumes. I try to buy the smaller gift set for emergency gifting purpose. :-) This one is not really great for my taste, It has a typical "Clean" scent however it is very powdery and it does not really last as long as my other perfumes from Clean.

As you can see, it is a decent box. But in my mind it is not up to Sephora standard. When I browse Social Media and come across other 10$ boxes like Ipsy and Birchbox, I don't see anything superb about the Sephora Box. I will keep continue getting this till the end of this year but if I still am not happy I will stop my subscription.

Are you liking your Play boxes?

By the way, I am not really for another Monday :-(

Love,

~Arrru

Kevyn Aucoin Beauty Pure Powder Glow in "Myracle" ::: Review and Swatches!!!

As a makeup lover and pro Internet browser I am very much aware of the iconic makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin and the cosmetics brand he founded in 2001. He is definitely very intriguing person and someday I intend to read his best sellers book like “Face Forward”, “Making Faces”! His products are more sophisticated and bear a reputation of being technically correct as far as the formulation of the products is compared against the usage of them. In simple words, his philosophies as makeup artist are far more important than the pressure of “selling” a product! I have never been fascinated much in his products as I think that I am still learning and it’s still a bit of time till I will consider myself to be able to do his products justice :-) Also the sheer prices of the products intimate me!

I finally had a chance to try a Kevyn Aucoin product. I got the Pure Powder Glow Blush in Mryacle in the Lucky Bag for 2016 that is curated by Beautylish. (Read more about Lucky Bag here)

These blushes are retailed at a price of $37. I am not sure if I am personally willing to pay that much for a blush alone. But because I got it in Lucky Bag, I paid much less. Packaging is gorgeous, very robust and the compact has an ombre look to it. My only complaint is about the closure of the compact. It opens up under just a tiny bit of pressure and I am always afraid that it will open up and the product will get ruined. That is why I try to keep it inside the cloth purse that it came with, especially when I am travelling. You can buy this blush from Beautylish, Sephora, Nordstrom and Barneys.

I have totally fallen in love with it. It’s quite a bright shade. I did have a few similar shades from different brands and may be for that reason I did not try it for a long time! It took me a while to appreciate this shade. However, I am loving it now. It made it to my Monthly Favorites last month as well. It’s matte in finish but works fine with my dry skin.  It’s a tad powdery but I don’t find that a problem! It’s a much pigmented product, so I use a fluffy brush and apply it very carefully. I always use light strokes first and build up the color intensity as needed. It is very blendable so I usually apply 2-3 light layers. The shade has such a brightening affect. I think it has a blue undertone to it but I have paired it with nude lips or with bright warm red lips, warm eyeshadows and it definitely works great! It immediately brings so much light to my face and makes me look so healthy! I usually get around 7-8 hrs. of wear time. I took this with me to India this time and this is what I applied on my sister for her engagement ceremony. It held up beautifully throughout the very busy in hot humid weather :-) I also wore the same shade. It shade also perfectly flattered all the bright Indian dress we were wearing (You can check a few pictures from the event here).

I am so glad that my Lucky Bag contained this! If you don’t hesitate to invest $37 in a blush, I would definitely recommend it. Especially if you are looking for deeper, bolder pigmented shades, this line has quite a few to offer.

Love,

-Arrru

Review and Swatches of deep, rich "04-Dark Matte" Eyeshadow Palette from Viseart!!!

Over these past few days I have been trying to come up with the perfect opening line to this post – something that can right away tell how much I have been loving the ”04-Dark Matte“ palette from Viseart. Before we start digging deeper, here is what you need to know about the brand-

• Viseart Cosmetics’ roots lie in the trend setting Marais District of Paris.
• It is an artisan brand with products created keeping professional makeup artists in mind.
• The founding partners’ revolutionary sustainable approach fuses quality with integrity and innovation to build a quality health-conscious makeup line.
• Their products are made without petroleum, parabens, silicons, butylene, glycol or propylene glycol, phthalates or artificial dyes.
• Viseart is cruelty-free; they don’t test on animals

There are a few 12-shade palettes that Viseart offers; each with a particular color scheme. They have Cool Mattes, Neutral Mattes, Bridal Satins and so forth! They retail at a regular price of $80 for a total 0.84 oz. of products. It definitely seems like a high cost but let’s compare the price with some similar products in the market.

Product	Price and Size	Price per oz. ($)
MAC single pan	10$ for 0.04 oz.	250
Makeup Geek single pan	$6 for 0.064 oz.	93.75
IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Matte Vol. 1 palette	$42 for 0.456 oz.	92.10
Urban Decay Naked Original palette	$54 for 12x0.05 oz.	90
Viseart 12-shade palette	$80 for 0.84 oz.	95.23

As you can see, it’s definitely of good value when you compare the size of the product you are getting. I consider it a good investment, personally for me! You can buy Viseart products from Sephora, Muse Beauty, Frends Beauty and Beautylish. Even though I think $80 is a justifiable price for the quality, I will still advise you to wait for some sale (e.g., Sephora’s 20% off VIB sale or Holiday Gift Card for beauty insiders, Frends Beauty also has sales frequently)!

The packaging is very neat and is made of sturdy plastic material. The lid is clear which makes it easier to see the shades inside. There is no mirror but that makes sense because these were built compact and easy-to-work-with in a professional environment for makeup artists. A mirror would have come in handy for an everyday user like me but other than that I love the no-nonsense type of packaging.

Ok, finally we are at the most exciting part of the review. The eyeshadows itself! I love colorful shadows and all these shades are very beautiful on their own. However, together in one single palette they are just stunning to look at! I have never seen such a peculiar assortment of gorgeous shades like these in a single palette before. That’s why this particular palette immediately caught my attention when I first became aware of the brand and I am happy to report that I have not been let down by this.

The blendability of these shadows is unbelievable. Being so rich in pigment I thought they will need a bit of blending! But no; you put them on your eyes, it takes 5 seconds to blend yet they don’t blend away or vanish unlike a few highly blendable shadows from different brands. For this reason it is easier to layer one color on top of the other and create custom shade. For the first look down here, I put at least 4 layers of 2-3 shadows and all of them still maintained their own strength and vibrancy. Also because of the ease in blendebility I can easily control the intensity of the color I want! That makes it so much easier to incorporate these shades into my everyday work-appropriate look. I have been testing this palette for 2-3 months now and I have to say that I can create many different looks with this palette itself. From time to time I have used lighter shade from other palette to blend out the crease area but I have to emphasize that I can easily use this palette alone to create wearable or vibrant looks. Staying power of these shadows depends on how you apply it. When I wear them to work, I often apply thin layers to get less-rich pigmentation and I have noticed that it starts to fade ever so gracefully after 6-7 hrs. of wear! That is pretty normal. However whenever I wear them in heavy layers it stays on for 10-12 hrs. e.g., for the first look shown here I applied my makeup at noon and after a busy day of cleaning the house, a dinner with a friend and 1-2 hrs. in the kitchen the eyeshadows maintained their rich pigmentation and vibrancy till I removed my makeup around 1 am at night :-)

The colors don't have individual names hence I am going to name them myself. It helps me to describe them a bit better plus it’s fun that way :-)

1-Warm Brown: Very beautiful slightly warm brown. Very smooth and easy to blend.

2-Cool Brown: This is another brown but it is slightly cooler and deeper than 1. Same consistency and same “ease” to work with!

3-Muted Red-Brown: Gorgeous warm but very deep muted red-brown. These reddish shades on the right top corner look really similar especially when applied on the eyes. I love it all.

4-Warm Orangey-Red-Brown: I love this type of warm reddish brown! Very lovely crease shade, I particularly love to pair them with dark shades like navy blue, grey and purples. It brings so much warmth and vibrancy to the eyes!

5-Muted Purple: The purples in this palette are very deep and muted. It’s not very vibrant and I like it because with a little bit of tweaking, I can easily make them wearable to work!

6-Muted Eggplant: This is a tad bit brighter & more purple and I like it a tad bit more than 3. All these five shades are very consistent in formula and texture.

7-Brilliant Orange: Beautiful shade. Orange works as gorgeous substitute for crease in place of everyday brown or taupes. This shade is a bit dry and rough to touch and a bit gritty! However on the crease it works just fine. I LOVE, love this shade on the crease!

8-Burnt Red Orange: This is a shade that’s meant for me! These type of shade looks quite flattering on my skin tone. Very smooth and so very easy to blend.

Although I love every single shade in here, I am a bit biased towards this row! It has the “blues” – what more could I want!

9-Midnight Blue: An atypical shade of blue. This easily satiates my crave to wear blue eyeshadow on a daily basis :-) I sound like a broken record but I am a die-hard fan of blue eyeshadows and I always want to wear them. These two here are very muted and hence it’s easier to wear around the outer V without looking too much glam for every day wear :-)

10-Deep Denim Blue: Another beautiful shade. It has more darkness and black in it than 9. They look very different on the swatch however upon application on the eyes; they don’t show drastic difference. In any case, I love both of these. This shade feels a bit gritty just like 7.

11-Everyday Emerald: This shade has so pleasantly shocked me. I love wearing colorful shades; apart from my generic interest in green as a colorful shade, I don’t feel particularly excited about it and automatically assumed that this will be just an ‘ok’ shade. But I have to accept that I am picking these more than the blues. It has such gorgeous pigment to it! Every single swipe and you get a beautiful shade of green, it’s like a stripped down version of a gorgeous shimmery emerald. It is a beautiful shade and muted enough to wear on the crease.

12- Pukey Green: :-) Another surprise favorite! I don’t believe I have a similar shade in my collection. Basically I never knew I would like it. I have been pairing it with all the other shades in here especially on the inner part of the lid.

Here are few looks I did with this palette; this one above being my absolute favorite. I put 9-Midnight Blue on the outer corners deepened with 10-Deep Denim Blue on the very outer corner, 11-Everyday Emerald on center of the lid and 1-Warm Brown, 3-Muted Red-Brown as transition shades on the crease. I also added a bit of 6-Muted Eggplant on the lower lash line.

If I have to mention any flaws in this palette, I would say that being a “dark matte” palette it needed a black shade. It also needed a lighter transitional skin-tone shade to blend out the crease a bit more! That would have made this my perfect matte-palette. However, Viseart has another palette called "Neutral Mattes" and it has all the crease shade along with black and brown in it. So I can understand why they did not include a black.

I bought this palette at a reduced price during Sephora’s VIB Sale few months back and I am really enjoying it. Over the past few years of my beauty addiction I have come to a realization that even though I absolutely enjoy wearing glittery-shimmery shades, my true joy lies with the mattes. I fell in love with the Naturally Pretty Matte Vol 1 from IT Cosmetics two years back and it is still a Holy Grail palette. I am pretty sure this Dark Matte palette is also going to be a must-have staple piece in my makeup collection.

If you love dark, rich shades like me go, grab this palette! You would not repent it :-)

Love,

~Arrru

Review and Swatches ::: Bobbi Brown Blush in "Sand Pink"

Sometime last year, I was desperately searching for an everyday blush-shade! At that time, I did not have an alarming amount of makeup like I do today :-) I only had NYX crème blush in Rose Petal which still is an absolute favorite product of mine, but I guess I was itching to branch out more and try some high-end products :-) 

During last year’s Beauty Insider sale a Sephora employee applied it on me and I loved the effect. Bobbi Brown is a very classic and elegant brand! They have a ton of awesome products but for some reason I find them a little “meh”! Must be my weird mind! The packaging does not have a spark to me personally and I was never inspired to use it. But for the past few months I have been constantly using to wear to work in rotation with some other blushes and I have been really ENJOYING it. It was actually one of my Beauty Favorites for 2015.

The regular price for this blush for 0.13 oz. of product is now $28 which was $26 when I bought it. The packaging is classic Bobbi Brown! Minimal with the clear lid which makes it easy to see the color. But there is no mirror which disappoints me. It’s a very practical container but if I am paying that much money for a blush, I want a mirror in the compact. You can shop it in Nordstrom, Sephora and Macy’s.

“Sand Pink” is a dusty-mauve shade. Absolutely perfect on my tan skin; it’s not too obvious but still is very feminine subtle pinky mauvy shade. It is very nicely pigmented and you get the shade to show on your cheeks without needing to be extremely cautious about using a very light hand. It is a matte formula. When I swatch it with my fingers, the texture feels a bit dry and powdery, but when I use it on my face it is really easy and smooth to apply as well as to blend. I have dry skin and I don’t have any problem with the texture. It lasts from 7 am to around 3-3.30 pm which is pretty good. But once I reapply my sunscreen before I head home form office, it completely vanishes; that might be just because of the sunscreen though.

This was my first Bobbi Brown product and I have been loving it so far. It is really a no brainer blush for me to wear to work. But I would also say that even though the product is good and I am getting good use out of it, it does not excite me enough to go out and check other Bobbi Brown products. What are your favorite products from her line?

By the way, Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Hope you all are having an wonderful time :-)

Love,

~Arrru

Review and Swatches ::: Natasha Denona Eyeshadow 5-pan Palette #01!!!

A couple of days back I reviewed palette #04 of the Natasha Denona 5-pan eyeshadow palette, you can find the review here. I got it in this year’s Lucky Bag from Beautylish. When I got it in the mail, there was a hefty fingernail dent on one of the shades! So, I contacted Beautylish team and they very generously accepted to replace it. These palettes were not available in early January; now they are getting ready to officially launch them and their amazing customer service team reached back to me and gave me an option to choose from any of the 13 palettes available in this range! Thank you so much Beautylish for this absolutely impressive customer care! I did have quite a hard time in choosing the palette that I want :-) There are some excellent color selections and I was particularly torn between #01, #05 and #10.  I finally decided on #01 as I felt this will be the most uncommon addition to my collection. Also, that navy was calling my name! (Side note: I happen to be obsessed with blue eyeshadow!)

These palettes are available at a price of $48 for 5 full-size eyeshadow. All 5 of these are also available in single pans. The single pans cost $25 to $29 for 0.08 oz. of products! So, with this palette there is almost 100 bucks of savings :-) when compared to the price of single shades! Beautylish will launch them soon and you can sign for early access here. Meanwhile you can find it in Natasha Denona website as well.

Packaging-wise I do think they have a lot to improve! Like I said in the previous review, at this price point I don’t expect this type of packaging. It appears quite cheap to be honest! It is a plastic compact with a clear and somewhat flimsy lid; but the material not as sturdy or as elegant-looking as I expected. I am afraid that there are risks of breakage if you travel a lot with this. There is no mirror as well!

Quality and performance wise these are consistent with #04 palette that I reviewed! This #01 palette has 3 different finishes and all of them are quite strongly pigmented! They blend easily and very quickly! They are very creamy in formula but when I swatch them with my finger, they feel a little bit stiff and not as soft as some of the other metallic shades from different brands. But I don’t feel this rigidity or hardness when applied on the eyes. Because of the richness and creaminess in the formula, it does crease ever-so-slightly! With primer, it lasts the 7-8 hrs. if I am in an indoor environment. Overall, the staying power is decent but I would definitely have enjoyed a little stronger wear time.

Anyway, I picked this palette because texture and shade wise this was the most versatile. Here are the shades

86P – Golden Aquamarine: This shade is identified as duo-chrome eyeshadow in Natasha Denona website. It is a very pale turquoise blue and as the name suggests, it has a gold shift to it as well. It is quite an interesting shade. It is definitely not for everyday use but I love it. I wore it on my lower lash line the other day and it stayed the whole day!

01V – Navy: This is the only matte shadow I have from her line. It is a very beautiful deep grey-ish navy blue! It almost looks “black” if you place it in a very concise, small area on your eyelids. You know I love my blues, this one is definitely a little bit different than what I already have from different brands. I have no clue why I am not as excited for this as I hoped to be! But it’s definitely a beautiful shade. The “matte” formula is great too, it is very pigmented, goes on smooth in application and blends in easily. It does have a tiny amount of fall-out; especially if I am putting too much effort in applying it. You have to be a little careful otherwise it can get messy.

80M – Piggy: All these other 3 shades are metallic in finish. This shade is quite similar to “moonstone” from #04 palette. It has a little bit more pink in it. These types of shade tend to appear much more brighter and lighter against my skin tone than it appears on the pan. I do love it but it is not suitable for everyday wear; at least not on me. This had the most fall out among all the ones that I tried from her line.

07M – Graphite: Normally, cool grey is not a personal favorite shade of mine, but I find this shade a lot more interesting than I had expected. It’s a metallic deep grey shade and has some lighter grey sparkle to it. I love to wear it on my outer v-corner. Also it can be very fittingly paired with all the other shades from this palette for some quick eye-looks. It can also be used for a super-quick “all-over-the-lid” type of smokey look! This has been a surprise favorite.

27M – Slate: When I zeroed on this palette, I was pretty sure that Navy will be my most favorite, but surprisingly I think this has been the my most adored and used shade till now! It’s a beautiful deep lavender shade with multi-color sparkle in it. I have been wearing it with Graphite and Navy or on the lower lash line on its own! I absolutely love this shade. It reminds me of “Bewitched” pigment from Makeup Geek; so beautiful.

In the look below I wore all 5 of these shades along with a matte crease shade from IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Palette Vol-I. I used navy on my outer v and outer-crease area, Graphite on outer V and slate on the inner lid area, Golden Aquamarine on the lash line and a bit of Piggy on the inner corner as highlight. I love how I was able to use all these seemingly different shades and create a cohesive look. I took 2 hrs of nap after 3-4 hrs of application (hey, it was a Saturday, don’t judge :-) me) and I was so surprised to see that everything was right there where I initially placed. It just bled a little bit on my tear line because I had a very creamy liner on my water-line. Overall, I love the quality of this palette. I have experienced a bit fall out from these shadows which was not an issue with the other palette. But I have to say that I am enjoying this palette a lot more than #04. I am able to mix and match these shades to create different looks; this is important to me as it keeps me interested in a particular palette. 

Under sunlight, look at the glitter :-)

I am having a lot of fun with this palate and I must thank Beautyish for enabling me to try this out. Are you planning to get anything from this line?

Love,

~Arrru

Sephora VIB Rouge Sale 2015 : Skincare Haul!!!

In light of ongoing Sephora VIB sale, I posted my thoughts on some of the holiday goodies a few days back (check the post here). This weekend 20% sale is active for VIB members. I am a VIB Rouge member, and previously Rouge members could use the coupon throughout the entire sale period, but this year it’s on different weekends depending on the tier of your membership. So, sadly the code is not working for Rouge members online for this weekend. However, the awesome associates at my local Sephora store did give me 20% off today as well :-)

Anyway, like I shared in my previous post, I restrained myself from buying a TON of makeup but I certainly went crazy on the skincare front. In my defense ,- I know that I will use up these products. Besides some of these are going to be gifts. Here is what I picked up -

All these are for gifting :-) :-)

L'Occitane Shea Butter Festive Ornament: This is the cutest little ornament! I originally bought it as a gift but now I am totally tempted. It comes in a beautiful festive globe that is very delicately packaged. The products here are very small in size but the overall presentation makes it a very adorable gift. I stock these types of small luxury gift able items for my home visits every one or two years! They are friendly to my wallet, easy to pack in my suitcase and my friends & family love them. Even though they are small in size, quality wise they are just fantastic.

Bvlgari Eau Parfumée White Tea Gift Set: This is another tiny little delightful set. Again, the items are not big in size, but are packaged very beautifully. I know this will make a wonderful gift for some I gift these to. I am even tempted to pick another set. It will also make a great stocking stuffer! I usually prefer to bundle up 2-3 small gifts like this; instead of a large gift because I think this way the recipient has a better chance of liking something :-)

Jack Black The Power Pack: These two sets are named the same, the red set has a beard lube and the blue one has a body shower in place of that. I have not used any of Jack Black’s products myself but I have gifted a few of my friends and they all liked it. I typically buy smaller set that are just $25 but very substantially sized! This year I picked up this bigger pack for my father. He actually used up the entire set I gave him last year and my sister tells me that he quite liked it. The other set I bought is for a dear friend who, I know for sure, loves these products. If you are looking for gift ideas for your male cousins, friends or family members, Jack Black has a few interesting sets.

Bliss Lemony Trinkets: I got 2 of this. It is going to be another mix-and-match gift. Originally priced at $10 but brought down to $7.50! Even though the products are just 1 oz. each, this kit is so simple and yet comes in a very festive holiday type of packaging! Definitely a very good stocking stuffer as well.

Tocca Beauty Crema Veloce Gift Set: Tocca Beauty is one of those brands that I always keep browsing but never gather the courage to indulge in any full size products. I just try to test out as many cute little sets as I can! :-) Last year, I gave a similar set to my sister and she absolutely loved it. So I figured I will try their hand cream myself. It may as well be added as gift I don’t know lol! It is a very nice single item gift too! They have a set with 5 hand creams, but I think the value on this one is much better.

This is what I got for myself and my sister :-)

Origins Let Us Glow: This is a set that I am very excited about. During the VIB sale last Spring, I scored a similar set that had a big-size “GinZing Energy-Boosting Moisturizer “! I have been using it for last 2-3 weeks and I have absolutely fallen in love. It’s a very light moisturizer with gel like creamy consistency. The invigorating, mildly zesty smell immediately awakens me in the morning! Works excellent under makeup as well. I have tried a sample of the Original Skin Mask, the first trial has not been as amazing as some of their other mask but I am sure it is a good product. Also, I am getting low on my current scrub; hence I am excited to try this Ginzing scrub as well. And I know that the eye cream will last a long time.

Caudalie Favorites Winter Set: I believe I am a bit obsessed with Caudalie, and have already many of their products! I have already gone through 2 of their 2014 Favorites Set! The more I use them the more I enjoy! Caudalie is quite an expensive range, so I tend to get these kits to try more products! I love the elixir for winter, especially here in the Windy City. Also, absolutely adore the moisturizer for summer because it’s light and very moisturizing. The hand cream is another favorite! I may be addicted to its fragrance. Also over the past few weeks my eyes have been little sensitive, and I really enjoyed their very gentle micellar water makeup remover. I am pretty excited about the remover that comes in this. 

Caudalie Vine Body Luxury Set:  Another set from Caudalie. If you enjoy mild fragrance in your products but cannot tolerate a strong smell, you should check out Caudalie products. They have very refreshing and very mild fragrance which is not at all overwhelming. Their Lip Conditioner is without doubt the best I have tried (Yes, even better than the Sugar lip treatment). But I refuge to pay 12$ for a full-size. Also, I love body butters and I can never have enough! My dry skin and the harsh winter here definitely call for heavy moisturizer! I look forward to use the Vine Body Butter.

Caudalie Moisture Essentials Set: Yes, my room is looking like a mini Caudalie boutique! The price of the regular size moisturizer alone is $39 and this here is a full size. Basically you are getting the other 2 products free! I have already used all of these products before, so this set was a no brainer J

Boscia Japanese Favorites: I have been intrigued by Boscia for quite a while now! So I figured now is the time to try. It contains 1.7 oz. Thermal Black Cleanser, 0.44 oz. Tsubaki Beauty Oil, 1 oz. Luminizing Black Mask, 1.7 oz. Exfoliating Peel Gel. I will report back once I have used them enough to form an opinion.

Philosophy Purely New Beginnings Purity Cleansing Collection Trio: Another kickass sale item.16 oz. Cleanser with 4 oz. mask and 5.8 oz. cleansing oil for $30 after sale! :-) I have recently used up a big bottle of the Purity Made Simple Cleanser and I sure miss it in my routine. Also, I am always on a hunt for a good makeup remover so we shall see how this works out.

Murad Environmental Shield® Skin Brightening Set: I mainly wanted to try out the “Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum” on the scarring left behind from some nasty acnes! I love the size, I don’t know if I am going to use this right away so it might be awhile before I try and report back to you.

Sephora Favorites Beauty Sleep: I simply picked this set because it has a few luxury skincare products from brands that are very expensive and which I never buy at regular price! The sizes are not at all generous. But after discount, the set cost me 24$ which is alone the price for the much hyped Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night oil. We will see how it works :-)

The sale is on till 11/16 and I hope this will help you in choosing what to get if you are shopping this weekend! Even though you are not a VIB member, these are all value sets and you will anyway save some money. Do check out my thoughts on the makeup sets here.

I will post what makeup I actually picked up from the sale next. Stay tuned. :-)

Love,

~Arrru