Lots of you have been asking to see her again and Shu Uemura recently relaunched the Laque Supreme, so my twin sister and I reviewed it together on YouTube! We hope you enjoy her presence because she'll be making guest appearances more often this year. Trish has different makeup and skin care preferences than I do so it should be fun for beauty lovers who want to see a wider variety of brands and products on my channel. We both agree that the new Laque Supreme's applicator and long lasting formula are lovable and wearable, though, so please check out our video below!
We swatched everything live on camera, but above are labeled swatches of the Laque Supremes for your convenience. Do keep in mind that skin swatches are just for reference. Please refer to the lip swatch session, the latter half of the video, to see how they look on the lips especially for the two vampy tones on the far right. WN04 is a cooler raspberry-magenta wine, while WN05 is a warmer blackberry wine. They appear identical in the photo above but they are totally different shades when worn on the lips!
The Burberry Kisses family is the latest and greatest in lip color! I show you my favorites in action in my new video, which you can watch below. I took your feedback from my other live lip swatch videos and shared both macro and wide views of each lip color. I picked three lip balms, lip glosses, and lipsticks that I felt were the most memorable and wearable but with the best pigmentation.
Many Holiday offerings have rolled out already, but I wanted to slow down the pace with a few more new releases. Laura Mercier is holding a Friends and Family Sale right now, so I wanted to focus on her latest Candleglow Collectionand trendy take on eyeliner. Check out the swatches of these fall releases after the jump!
I can hardly believe we are halfway through 2015!! June was a very stressful month because of the move, but I am glad we survived with all body parts intact. I will look back fondly on that first apartment, because living on my own was my first big girl step and I learned too many things to count! Now, I hope this new apartment will allow me to grow creatively and share with you more beautiful lifestyle inspirations, such as home decor and beauty organization. Plus, expect more pictures of Beau since my new place has more space and light!
I'm still in the process of unpacking and waiting for my furniture orders to arrive, but in the meantime, I wanted to share my latest skin care display. I thought more of you would be curious about the products, but I got an overwhelming response for the tray! It's actually a kitchen server from Crate and Barrel. I loved it immediately because I have a weakness for marble, but I knew it would be perfect for skin care because of the height between the shelves. I had used acrylic organizers from The Container Store for years, but they are too high maintenance and cannot accommodate larger bottles and jars. Now my bathroom (and yours, too) can be clutter-free!
Note: I did not feature any skin care in this episode because I plan to do another skin care video later this month. Would you prefer a current skin care favorites or morning/evening skin care routine? Let me know!
This highly requested "What's In My Bag" episode is dedicated to my Saint Laurent Sac du Jour Nano Crossbody purse in smooth calfskin with golden hardware. I ordered mine from Neiman Marcus a week after I first spotted it on the website. A week after my bag arrived, it went on sale in both the nano and small sizes (now completely sold out).
As mentioned in the video, I unsnapped the back tabs since cinching the sleek gusseted sides prevents me from easily accessing the bag's contents. I try to handle my purses carefully, so I have been wearing the bag belted in the front but open in the back. The five golden feet at the bottom of the bag offer plenty of stability and protection, but it does not weigh the purse down whatsoever. The dimensions are quite smaller, even smaller than I expected, with a height of 8.5 inches, width of 7 inches, and depth of 4 inches.
The removable strap has a 20" drop, but I always wear it as a crossbody or on the shoulder. I removed the signature padlock charm because it was unexpectedly very heavy, and I did not want it to create indentations against the soft dove white leather. I love it so much that I am considering the small size now, which I think is the perfect hand-held size against my pear-shaped frame!
Saint Laurent currently offers the nano, Baby (approximately the size of my Celine Nano, although a bit wider), Small, and Classic sizes in a wide range of colors and textures. I usually prefer smooth leather, but I really love the new Warm Taupe in Grain Leather and Bright White in Grain Leather. Some retailers refer to the sizes by different names than my Saint Laurent boutique SA does, so it's best to double check the measurements before ordering online. I hope you found this bag review helpful! xo
This Favorites episode is launching a little earlier than usual because my twin sister is making a surprise reappearance! We filmed a monolid makeup tutorial a few years ago, but she is finally back and chatting about products instead of sitting in as my model. If you'd like to order the La Mer Skin Tint — which is not widely available online yet — from her Neiman Marcus store in Newport Beach, you can have one shipped to you! It is such a phenomenal tinted sunscreen, smooth and creamy without feeling greasy. Do call her at (949.220.3366) if you'd like to get shade matched. We may film some other hair and beauty tutorials together soon, so please feel free to share any video suggestions! Now, this April lineup is fairly simple and straightforward, covering most of my daily essentials. I'm turning 26 this week, and the older I get, the more I like to keep it simple when I'm not in front of the camera. Beauty is more about grooming and enjoyment v. makeup and glamour as you age (in my experience). Still, there's nothing more exciting than sparkly Tom Ford newness! Hope you enjoy the bloopers xo
March has been a fabulous month on all counts! I'm steadily maintaing my weight of 105 pounds, hitting the gym 3x a week and eating as healthy as possible. I only eat red meat 2x a week or less and fill up on seafood and brown rice and zucchini noodles. I am truly enjoying the lifestyle change and am optimistic for my progress this year. Oftentimes, however, I find myself wishing for more hours in a day because my puppy Beau is growing up too fast. I posted more photos of him on Instagram, and he actually made a cameo in one of my videos earlier this month! I'm also creeping nearer and nearer to my 26th birthday, which feels nerve-racking yet exciting all at once. I was told time after time that the mid to late-twenties years would fly by, but I never anticipated how true that would be! Anyway, I hope you will enjoy discovering new products with this Hits & Misses episode because there are so many incredible releases to discuss.
Beautylish brought in the phenomenal Saikoho white goat Takumi brush series, and it may very well become my favorite collection for daily use. If you are a working professional in the beauty industry often, the Takumi series is a must-have! They're also ideal for those who travel a lot. I only reviewed my top 3 picks from the lineup, but I will work on a comprehensive blog review in the next couple weeks. Since the episode was getting a little too long, I had to cut out the MAC x Nordstrom Naturals Eyeshadow Palette (worn below), Shu Uemura Blanc Chroma Cleansing Oil and the Marc by Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Crème, but I will be sure to include the latter two in my April Haul video! Have fun but stay out of trouble on April Fool's! xo
As some of you may have seen on social media, Nordstrom has an exciting new exclusive collection by YSL Beauty! These new third generation Pop Water Glossy Stains are some of the best lip glosses I have worn in the last couple years. Many of you know that I am a Glossy Stain and moreover, lip gloss addict, so I knew this Nordstrom exclusive Pop Water collection would be right up my alley. All details and swatches after the jump!
Charlotte Tilbury is my favorite new beauty launch this year! Her makeup beats Gucci's by a long shot (first impressions review here), so I apologize for not being able to share this compilation sooner. I was waiting on some additional products to arrive and figured it was worth the wait to share as many shade variations as possible. Check out the individual product reviews and swatches after the jump!
Most of my Gucci Beauty order arrived the other day, so I wanted to share my first impressions with you! I ordered via the Gucci site, but I recommend pre-ordering from Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue due to their superior return policies. Gucci only allows returns that are brand new (meaning unopened and in plastic wrapping), meaning that you cannot try or swatch and return. Usually, that would not bother me whatsoever, but considering my experience with some of my order, I will definitely order Gucci products from only Neiman Marcus or Saks moving forward.
The linen paper packaging reminds me of Giorgio Armani's, though the gilded gold lettering on the Gucci boxes has a more luxurious feel. I'm not a fan of the excessive brand labeling and monogramming — since I personally prefer more subtle packaging — but I do think the overall design is in tune with Gucci's designs, target demographic, and buyer preferences.
Let's start with the bad. I was most excited for the lipsticks and the lip gloss, but I was most disappointed by them. The Vibrant Demi-Glaze Lip Lacquer is the worst of my haul. I expected full-pigment color based on the description, but the product has a very sheer, watery formula. The signature 'Blue Chocolate' scent and taste are VILE. Yes, it is so incredibly awful that I had to use the caps lock. I have a terrible sense of smell from having endured a long bout of bronchopneumonia as a child, but I could smell this lip gloss on my lips for a couple hours after removal. I tried my best to leave it on for as long as possible to see if the scent would dissipate, but I could only bear it for a total of 15 minutes. The taste was almost worse than the scent. It felt as though I was drinking a very bad vanilla-based perfume.
The lipsticks are a little more tolerable since the fragrance is not as overpowering, but the taste is unacceptable. The Moisture-Rich formula itself is well executed (creamy and smoothing with moderate coverage), but what a pity.. as such, I will definitely not be ordering any Color-Rich lipsticks.
The bronzer and powder foundation are quite nice. I cannot say that either was a life-changing experience or love at first swipe, but I have only tried them once thus far. The Finishing Powder (pictured above) is more mattifying than I had anticipated, but it should perform well on oily skin. The half-moon brushes included in both powder and bronzer compacts is lovely. The dyed bristles are actually soft, and I would recommend using the brushes for touch-ups. The Golden Glow Bronzer is smooth but not quite as silky as the description boasted, though I love that Carribean Ochre (the lightest of four shades offered) is shimmer-free. I do think it is an affordable alternative to Tom Ford's bronzer, one of my Holy Grail favorites. The best of my haul is undoubtedly the Shadow Mono in Iconic Copper, which is one of the impressive 19 shade lineup. I love the shimmery, slightly metallic finish. It is creamy, semi-sheer yet easily buildable, and wears well on my normal lids even without a primer. I will definitely be ordering several more of these single eyeshadows!
I also ordered a couple Nail Lacquers, but they had to be shipped via ground and will arrive Friday. I will purchase more single eyeshadows as well as duos, so please stay tuned for additional details and swatches. I did not order the Lustrous Glow Foundationsince I have been testing one too many liquid foundations recently, but I will do my best to try it sometime this Fall.
NOTE: Please do not remove my watermark and/or repost these copyrighted photos without
my permission. Be respectful of my time and effort in sharing these products. Many thanks.
