Yves Saint Laurent Volupte Sheer Candy Tangy Manderine #10

This isn't a review, cause I just bought this Yves Saint Laurent lipstick tonight at Sephora. As I mentioned Sephora is having their VIB (and regular Beauty Insider so I hear but it is slightly shorter) 15% off sale starting today. I stopped at the store on my way home tonight and got my free umbrella and "bag of goodies". There was nothing I was dying to have. I placed the Naked 2 palette in my basket and then walked around some more and put it back. I'm horribly indecisive. The store was really pushing their new Sephora + Pantone collaboration and honestly, nothing from that line was exciting or wearable to me. I can't pull off orange lipsticks no matter how much Sephora claims I can and let me just mention that aside from the lipstick, which was packaged beautifully and seemed great for most non-me skintones, the rest of the collection was very meh. The blush duo was horribly shimmery, the eyeshadow was chunky, the lip glosses had more glitter than I care for and I can pass on the orange nail polishes.

Anyway, I guess the orange vibe got to me eventually, because I was around the Yves Saint Laurent display and saw this color and said, "ooooh" Tangerine Tango I can wear! Enter Yves Saint Laurent Volupte Sheer Candy Tangy Manderine (Glossy Balm Crystal Color). 

Lovely luxe packaging, sheer juicy formula, aside from the whole crazy mega expensive at $30 thing, Tangy Manderine and I have had a short tumultuous love affair... so far.

I

Top is when I swatched it in the store and then came home and washed my hands. I find it hilarious that this product stains the skin but I couldn't get the glossy stains to! Bottom is a new full-on swatch. This is basically the tangerine for girls that don't think they can wear tangerine.

My lips are in poor shape and I did find the color collected in the lip lines a little but even so, I do find the color moisturizing and you can only tell when you do a lip close up.

I personally love this shade and I bet I'll get a lot of wear out of it, especially this summer. As I said, it's a safe tangerine.

Are You A VIB? Psst Sale Starts March 29th!

Are you a Sephora VIB? You are typically given the Very Important Beauty (Insider) election if you're crazy and spend over $350 in a calendar year at Sephora. I'm guilty. Either way, if you do happen to be one, you can receive 15% off any purchase from March 29th (this Thursday) through April 6th. No exclusions and the code, CHICWEEK can be used multiple times. They are also holding a special event in store on the 29th which you bet I'm going to, free umbrella!

Anyone going to pick up anything? I'm tempted to get a back up of my Makeup Forever Sens'eyes.

Review: Naturopathica Aloe Replenishment Gel

I was sent the Naturopathica Aloe Replenishment Gel a few weeks ago to test out. Naturopathica is a company started by esethetician and herbalist Barbara Close and strives to create products with natural and mostly organic ingredients and still produce results. The thing that attracted me to the Aloe Replenishment Gel was the lack of silicones. While I'm not allergic to silicone-based products per say, my skin doesn't like them for long periods of time (ie. makeup is usually fine, skincare not so much). This gel includes anti-inflammatory ingredients such as Aloe Vera and Prickly Pear Cactus and Hyaluronic Acid which plumps the skin. The product can be left on or used as a mask.

Here's why I love this product.

When my skin needs deep hydration and repair, my first stop is usually a super rich-nearly greasy cream or lotion which I wear overnight. The cream instantly attracts fuzz, dirt and leaves a mess on my pillow case. Also, dare my husband try to touch my face during the night as he's left with a handful of lotion. This leaves no residue. It's not sticky. It's slightly cooling so it's refreshing to apply (they actually recommend keeping it in the fridge). It's light. It has no added fragrance or perfumes but still smells pleasant and fresh. I like using this overnight in place of a heavier lotion if my skin is looking particularly parched.

The only negative about this product is the price. For a 2oz tube, it retails for $48. That is quite on the pricey side but I've had my little tube for quite awhile and I only use a little bit each time and tend to use it as a mask more than an everyday treat. I think it's definitely going to be great this summer when I need hydration but anything heavy or thick just makes me overheated.

Naturopathica Aloe Replenishment Gel can be purchased on the Naturopathica website. They also have a sale on some of their products up to 35% until March 31st .

Ingredients:  Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice*, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Linseed Extract*, Sclerotium Gum, Leuconostoc Ferment Filtrate, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Seed Extract*, Centella Asiatica (Gotu Kola) Extract*, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Extract*, Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Fruit Extract, Pyrus Communis (Pear) Extract*, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizinate, Diglycerin, Pinus Pinaster.

* Ingredients from organic farming

99.99% of the total of the ingredients are of natural origin

88.23% of the total ingredients proceed from Organic Farming

Natural and Organic Cosmetic certified by ECOCERT Greenlife according to ECOCERT Standard available at http://cosmetics.ecocert.com

Disclosure: This product was sent for review purposes.

Review: La Roche Posay Physiological Cleansing Gel

As you may recall, I've been on a bit of a cleanser hunt. I had hoped the La Roche Posay Physiological Cleansing Gel would be similar to their old Rosaliac Cleansing Gel, but this one requires water and can't simply be tissued off like the other (something I loved when sick or tired). The Physiological Cleansing Gel comes with 6.76 oz of product and retails for $20.95. It is a very basic, no frills sort of cleanser but manages to cleanse the skin without making it overly dry or tight after cleansing. I still have to moisturize soon after but there are cleansers on the market that are much more stripping. One of the perks of this cleanser is the pump; it's perfection. It pumps out exactly the right amount of product in one go.

As with most of the La Roche Posay line, this is great for sensitive skin types. Being soap free, alcohol free and paraben free makes it extremely gentle. The only negative is the slight added fragrance. La Roche Posay products can be found at many CVS locations nowadays and sometimes go on sale so it's worth picking up if you're looking for a new cleanser.

I wish they brought back that cleansing gel. It rocked.

Aqua/Water, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Poloxamer 184, Poloxamer 124, Avrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Isohexadecane, Sodium Hydroxide, Ammonium Polyacryldiemthyltauramide/Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Isopropyl Myristate, Polysorbate 80, Caprylyl Glycol, Myrtrimonium Bromide, Benzoic Acid, Parfum /Fragrance.

Green Weekend & Julep

I hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day and that those that partook in festivities are feeling alright. My recommendations from my slightly less routine college days include a burger and a bottle of Gatorade (seriously, the grease will help). I suppose this post should have gone up yesterday but as I'm sure you can tell by my lack of posts, school and work have been kicking my behind. Without getting into details, I've been working almost 50 hour weeks and on average, I have 2 assignments or papers due a week on top of it! I took a breather today and painted my nails Julep Leah. Without repeating myself ad nauseam, Julep's polishes dry the fastest out of all the formulas I've tried and they look good and don't get gloppy while you're doing your nails (hint Revlon fix that).

Julep is basically having a BOGO free promotion for St. Patty's Day. Buy $14 of products (1 polish), get a bottle of Leah free. This promotion is good through tonight for those interested and you don't have to be a Maven to use it!

While I'm on the topic, Julep has been offering another penny promotion for new Maven members. Simply use the code SHAREONMARCH and you can get your first month of Julep Maven for 1 cent. You don't need to use my link of course, but it's here. Given my love for the formula, I've kept up my subscription and I like that I can skip months that don't interest me or choose other profile boxes for different colors.

I hope everyone is doing well and I apologize for my absence. The semester ends in April, thank goodness. After that, I'm taking the summer off and then have one final class in the fall and then I'm done!

Disclosure: Referral link used.

March Birchbox

I opted into the Teen Vogue March Birchbox even though I'm far from a teen. I am so happy I did as Birchbox and Teen Vogue really hit it out of the park with this one.

 

Included:

* Shiseido Pureness Oil-Control Blotting Paper 10 sheets (full size 100 sheets, $18)

* Annick Goutal Petite Cherie edp sample (full size 50ml $85)

* Twistband hair tie (12 pack $18)

* Essie LuxEffects A Cut Above full size $8

* Tarte Lip Surgence Natural Lip Tint in Joy full size $24
+ a discount code for Modcloth.com

I know there were slight variations with the Teen Vogue boxes but this one rocked! The full size Tarte and Essie items definitely made this box worth the $10 and of course I'll be reviewing the products on the Birchbox site to get 50 points (worth $5). Very very satisfied with this box which is a good thing cause the last one was seriously underwhelming!

Disclosure: Referral link used.

February Empties

This post seems kind of silly to me, only because I only used up 3 products in February. Granted, it was a short month, but not that short. Anyway, the three products I used up were:

Rene Furterer Deep Cleansing Spray - I'm actually really annoyed that I've used this up as I can't find it anywhere. They used to carry Rene Furterer in Sephora but they've done away with the majority of the line and I can't find this spray sold anywhere online (besides Amazon/Ebay). I'm not sure if this product is discontinued or if it's just really hard to get in America, but if you can get your hands on it and you suffer from anything scalp related, it's an awesome natural alternative to some of the scary stuff your doctor probably prescribes.
Revlon 3D Extreme Waterproof Mascara - I quite liked this. It held a curl decently enough but towards the end of my tube, it started to flake throughout the day. Not full length review worthy.
Ahava Cleansing Cream - This came in the October Birchbox. I really liked this cleanser. It is super gentle but seemed to cleanse my skin decently well though I depended on another cleanser for makeup removal. This little tube lasted forever even with daily use. I'd definitely consider repurchasing this in the future!

And as they say, that's it folks! Let's hope I'm more successful in March!

Beauty Army

I got sucked in to another beauty box, Beauty Army, and I place the blame for this one entirely on Elvira (most of you know her as Pink Sith). I do adore her but did I need yet another beauty box? The answer to that rhetorical question is no. Nonetheless, I selected the beauty profile leading to the nicest samples in my opinion and got my first box today. I'm really impressed. If they can keep this up. Some other beauty box sample program really dropped the ball on their last monthly box coughglambagcough which guess who also subscribed due to the hype? Yes, that would be me. Who needs 4 different sample programs? That was another rhetorical question - don't answer!

All the products were nicely wrapped. The box is sturdy and the pink camo print is pretty darn cute. I found to get the best samples you need to pick the craziest profile. If Beauty Army thought I actually wore makeup the way I picked my profile items, you'd think I was Mimi which is quite fitting as there's a blue eyeshadow in this box.

source http://www.fanpop.com/spots/the-drew-carey-show/images/680465/title/mimi-photo

So, here's what came in the box. Pretty good stuff if you ask me!

Cover Fx Eye Prep .16floz (full size .67floz $43) "worth" $10.27
Joico K-Pak Revitaluxe 1.7floz (full size 5.1oz $22) "worth" $7.33
My.Face Cosmetics Blingtone eyeshadow in Caribbean Queen full size, worth $20
Babor Argan Cream 15ml (full size 50ml $138) "worth" $41.40
Mama Mio Shrink to Fit Cream 1.7floz (full size 3.4floz $56) "worth" $28
MAD Skincare Eye Defense Shielding Serum .13oz (full size .5oz $54) "worth" $14.04

Even though I don't think I'll be using the Mama Mio lotion stuff, I'm really excited about the rest of it. And with a value of over $100, that's pretty great for a sample box. I recommend so far. I hope they can keep this up!

Have you subscribed to Beauty Army?

Review: Alison Raffaele Tinted Moisturizer

Something that I've been reaching for a lot is the Allison Raffaele Skin Tinted Moisturizer. I picked up the Light shade the last time the brand was on Hautelook. This line isn't really talked about much in the blogosphere likely because the products produce a very light natural look while bloggers tend to prefer high pigment products. I tend to prefer lighter, subtle looks myself though I do play with color on occasion. The Allison Raffaele Skin Tinted Moisturizer comes with 1.76oz of product and retails for $35 but I believe I paid about $10 on Hautelook. It is water based and quite liquidy so the tube requires a good shake before use. It's oil free and has SPF15 and has no added fragrance. I find the best application for this is my fingers.

From the Alison Raffaele website:
"Protective and firming oil-free tinted moisturizer with mineral based SPF 15. Vitamins A, C and E help protect and regenerate the skin, while aloe calms and seaweed extract firms."

This is a mineral based product so it doesn't give you a shiny look that some tinted moisturizer can give. The color is yellow based but it's just yellow enough to conceal my redness without giving me a yellow streaky face. It provides very light coverage so it basically just melds into my skin and hides some of the redness. I don't find it oxidizes during the day and I generally wear topped with the Physicians Formula Mineral Wear powder and the combination lasts all day.

In the swatch above it almost looks too yellow, but I've shown it blended in below and I bet you can see how sheer it is above.

See? All gone.

Some would probably find this too lightweight and too light a coverage, but it does just enough for me. This evens out the redness on my nose and cheeks without looking like I have a mask on and I can barely feel it on.

Although it does have silicones in it, it doesn't feel anything like the silicone based primers I've used. I really like this tinted moisturizer. It provides a nice light base for my powder and covers up the majority of my redness so I don't have to pack the powder on. Not the greatest ingredient list out there but it works well for me. Would I rebuy? Not sure. It's really nice but I'm not sure it's worth the $35 retail price.

Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide (1.825%) (CI 77891), Zinc Oxide (3.72%) (CI 77947)
Inactive Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG 100 Stearate, Cyclomethicone, Propylene Glycol, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Cetearyl Alcohol, Magnesium Silicate, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Fucus Vesiculosus Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Phospholipids, Panthenol, Allantoin, Butylene Glycol, Isopropyl Isostearate, Polysorbate 60, C12 15 Alkyl Benzoate, PEG/PPG 18/18 Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl 6 Polyricinoleate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Stearic Acid, Aluminum Hydroxide, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Disodium EDTA, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben