Stash Shopping: Dior 2009 Holiday Collection Makeup Palette

Back before I ever picked up a lipstick or made googly eyes at a nail polish, I used to peek through my mom’s beauty magazines from time to time.  One of the articles that still stands out in my mind is this one, a mini ‘review’ of Lancome’s Destiny Cube.  While it does look both cute and cool (see here), that blurb made it seem so mysterious, something that held real magic which could be released with the mere touch of a finger.

But MM, the picture on top says Dior…how…

Wait, I’m getting there!

Lately, I’ve fallen into the trap of using the same handful of makeup products every single day.  I try to trick myself by using a new lipstick each morning, but the truth is that I haven’t worn a lick of eye makeup in weeks, aside from the occasional halfhearted coat of mascara.

The other day, I felt a desperate need to wear eyeshadow.  I couldn’t remember what it looked like or felt like on my face anymore.  This conversation sums up my general state of mind at that point:

Ellis Faas Concealer Review

If there is such a thing as the bread and butter of a makeup collection, it would probably be a base makeup item, such as concealer.  To put it in food terms, while lipstick is akin to truffle salt and nail polish is tea… you know what?  This is a bad analogy.  I’m going to stop now.

Concealer is a basic makeup item that I think of as a necessary building block for a makeup collection.  I’m one of those lucky souls with permanent dark circles under my eyes, so I don’t like to think what my life would be like without concealer.

Dark and lonely, probably.  And soul-crushing.

I’ve spent a lot of time raving about Ellis Faas products on this blog.  No, the click pens aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and neither are the prices, but they consistently produce innovative yet practical products that are a joy to wear.

My Secret Contouring Weapon: NYX Blush in Taupe

I hope those of you that celebrate Chinese New Year had a delicious dinner and quality family time yesterday.  And a wonderful new year, of course.  We did the whole red-envelope-under-pillow-only-eat-a-bite-of-the-fish-plus-red-underwear-and-a-billion-other-traditions-thing, and I baked blueberry muffins.  Because, you know, dragons like blueberry muffins and it’s the year of the dragon.

Switching gears to coherent beauty talk…

For the longest time, I thought I couldn’t get the hang of contouring.  Each time I’d try it, I wound up looking ridiculous.  Maybe I’ve smacked my head on too many walls, because it never occurred to me that it was the color and not the technique that was the issue.  I’m on the pale side (think N15), but started off with pigmented bronzers.  Picture the Pillsbury dough boy with orange marker drawn on his cheeks, jawline, and down his nose.  Do you see the problem here?

I purchased this NYX blush two years ago, declared it HG (holy grail) practically on the spot, and have been using it ever since.  Why then, has it taken me so long to review it?  Well mostly because when I bought it, I didn’t have my weird touch nothing until photographed obsession.  Instead of snapping a picture, I just went ahead and used it like a normal person.  And now it makes my soul hurt to post a picture of a blush that is clearly past the prime of its life.  But I will do it anyways:

A Late Bloomer Review: Pixi Beauty

I say late bloomer because this was a spring 2011 release *gulp,* but both items are still available on Pixi’s website.  So if either piques your interest, it’s all good…in the neighborhood…of Makeup Morsels!

(You know that little voice in your head that tells you to stop talking while you’re ahead?  Yeah, I don’t have that)

First up is their Line Relax Serum:

The serum is housed in a square-cut, frosted glass bottle.  It’s topped off with a plastic cap in a cucumber-green color, and a semi-matte texture.  I approve of the overwhelming springy-ness.

When I saw the word ‘serum,’ I was expecting an extra-concentrated pre-moisturizer fluid, but I would really describe this as a primer.  While it has the feel of a light lotion, it dries down to a smooth finish, great for

Ellis Faas’ Sizzling Summer Set

Before I dive into this review, I just want to bring you all up to speed on my site.  As you can probably tell, things look different!  There are still elements I need to work on, but think of this as a mock-up of what the blog will look like from now on.  If you look at the menu bar, the top row has all the usual pages.  Below that, I’ve added menus that will help you sort through my posts.  For example, reviews are now sorted by both category and price point.  I’m also going to try to add a “Brands” list under reviews, but since I need to go through about 500 posts and update all of them, that will take awhile!  Anyways, please let me know what you think of the changes (but don’t tell me you like the old one better, because I might just break something.  It was a lot of work).

And onto the review!

About a month ago, I showed you a preview of this cute little set from my favorite high-end brand, Ellis Faas.  Basically, they stuck three summery products together, and shaved some money off the price.

First up is a product that should sound familiar: Ellis Faas Lights!  The shade (E303 “bronze”) is one I’ve reviewed before here, and is absolutely perfect for summer.

Old swatch here, E303 is in the middle: