Product Review: Tarte Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette

The palette relative to the size of my hand. It's smaller than it looks online.

That title is a mouthful, I'm not even going to lie. When I first really started to get into makeup, I was (and still am) really into shimmer. Shimmer and glitter was the THANG. Urban Decay's Naked Palettes were like WHOA. But every now and again, a girl needs a matte eyeshadow. Whether it's a transition shade or you're just feeling not so sparkly that day, every girl should have a choice of matte shadows to choose from. If you wanted to, you could buy singles...or you could buy an all matte palette. I was very thrilled when I saw Tarte was releasing a palette just full of matte neutral colors. I think it is limited edition, but I can't be sure. 

Tarte was inspired by beauty bloggers/vloggers when it named the individual colors in the palette. If you are interested in who they are, you can read about it on Tarte's Website! It contains 12 beautiful matte neutral colors and is $44 available at Sephora and Tarte.com. I wasn't sure I really wanted to check out this palette until I touched the shadows in the store. They are unbelievably creamy, buttery and soft. As soon as I touched it, it was in my basket and I was checking out. Ridiculous.

Thank you Tarte, for printing the names of the colors on the palette. Look at that reflection of me taking this pic. Amateur.

So, I'm going to be completely honest with you here...I almost returned this. I really struggled with this palette. I had trouble making the colors show up on my skin and I had a really hard time blending them. It was a mess. I kept the box around for days...weeks. Then, one day...I just decided to start really trying to figure out what the issue was.

I've never really used matte eyeshadows. Not really.

There is a serious learning curve when it comes to all matte eyeshadow looks. It does not blend the same or apply the same as eyeshadows that are satin, shimmer or glittery finish. It just doesn't. Sure, maybe you use one here and there to work with your look, but if you've never tried to work with ONLY matte eyeshadows and make your look happen, you'll be in for a rude awakening. It's a different animal and it's a whole different set of skills. Once I got around the idea that I needed to work with these differently, I really enjoyed this palette.

Swatches over primer in order from left to right, top to bottom.

Swatches over primer...different light

So, I think this palette is worth the money. You get a little instruction book to use with it that tells you how to do two different looks. For the sake of this review, I did the "Daytime" look, which used Caregiver (light pink) on the lid to the brow bone, Natural Beauty (Mauve) on the inner crease, Best Friend (Mulberry) on the outer crease and Bombshell (Dark Plum) to line the lid with a wet liner brush. I actually don't have an angled liner brush (Which I think would have worked better, it's on my wishlist!) I have a Sonia Kashuk pencil brush, which worked okay. I'm not a makeup artist, but I figured Tarte thought any old Beauty Blogger could do this look. I think the effect was pretty and natural. Especially since I love pinks and mauves. I have a hooded, almond shaped eye, so there isn't much real estate to really work with here, but I think I did an okay job for an amateur. If I can do one thing, it's follow directions.

Tarte's "Daytime" look from the Instructions. Did I do it right?

Close up of the look. Kinda pretty, right?

All of the colors watched beautifully and I had no issues with pigmentation. The only one that was a bit weak was Power Player (Taupe), but it's not terrible. I was VERY impressed by the Black (Fashionista). It's quite black and intense. I am going to enjoy using it as a liner or to do a smokey eye. The rest of the colors are quite pretty and this is a great palette for using on its own or as a go-to when you need a matte color in a look with shimmery colors too.

I've never had serious issues with Tarte Eyeshadows not being long wearing and the lasting power on these is good. I didn't find that there was any fallout with these shadows at all and they are not terribly powdery which is great. This is a nearly perfect matte palette. What do you think? Are you used to working with matte eyeshadows? Is it different than shimmer/satin/glitter finish eyeshadows?

Product Review: Tarteist Clay Paint Liner

Having discovered the wonder of cream eyeliner this year, this product intrigued me. It was in a tube and came with a really nice looking brush. For those of you who don't know...gel or cream eyeliner typically comes in a glass pot that you use with a brush and you can apply it to your top eyelash line or anywhere really. Even your waterline, just be careful. There are some pretty good gel eyeliners at the drugstore, L'Oreal makes a lovely one as well as Milani and Maybelline. Benefit makes one in a pen form which is...not good. But I digress...

Tarte is one of my favorite high-end cosmetic brands. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know how I feel about the Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blushes. The Tarteist Clay Paint Liner is a cream liner in a tube. It comes with a very nice angled eyeliner brush, which is a very nice bonus. The brush is quite nice and I think Tarte is terrific for giving the brush with the product. This claims to be a waterproof cream liner, that wears for 12 hours. Tarte is really pushing that 12 hour time period, aren't they? It retails for $24 available at both Sephora and the Tarte Website.

The tube delivery system is really different and innovative. I found this to be a very sanitary way to use the product, provided that you don't squeeze out a ton of product on the easel.

Tarteist Clay Eyeliner and the included angled eyeliner brush

Product with the cap off

Squeeze the tube and a little bit comes out and you can work on your little eyeliner easel!

Hand swatches. It dries completely matte.

The angled brush that comes with the liner is really nice! There were a lot of reviews on the Sephora website that stated the brush didn't allow for a lot of accuracy, but I actually found the tip to be very precise. I was able to get a thin line at both ends of my liner and was able to build up the line in the middle. 

The product itself is quite liquidy for a cream liner. The liners that come in a pot are solid (but creamy, like peanut butter?) and this is most definitely a liquid. However, it is very creamy and is easy to pick up on the brush. It smoothed on to my lash line without tugging and very smoothly. Because it is so liquidy, it is not as opaque as a solid gel liner. If you let the liner dry a bit and go over it again, you will find it's very black and dries completely matte.

Once it sets (I left it alone for about 10 minutes), it is pretty much waterproof as it claims. I was able to smudge a bit of it off on my hand when I rubbed it. I am hardly ever doing this to my eye area so this didn't concern me. Did it wear 12 hours? Not sure...I wore it for about 9 hours and it was fine. At the end of the day, it was easy to remove with an oily eye makeup remover. But it doesn't come off easily with soap and water or facial cleanser. It's pretty waterproof...but you can smudge it.

The eyeliner applied on my top lid only

A view of both eyes done! I'm also wearing Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Blushing Bride and LipSurgence Lip Tint in Moody!

The Verdict: If you are a fan of gel or cream eyeliners...give this a try! It's a decent size for what it is and it comes with a really great brush that I'm happy to have in my collection.

Pros: Cool product delivery method, Comes with a brush, sanitary, matte, easy to apply, decent black pigmentation, waterproof, long-lasting

Cons: Liquid-like texture affects the opacity of the liner, not totally smudge proof

As I'm writing this review, this eyeliner is sold out on both Sephora's website and Tarte's website! Why do you think it's so popular? Do you want to try this? What is your favorite gel liner? Tell me in the comments!

The Stylish Awards: Best in Beauty 2014 - FACE

Good morning, beauty product junkies! Boy, has it been a while since I've posted here. We have been having quite a bit of snow here in Boston. In case you have been under a rock for the past few weeks, we have had a record-breaking amount of snow here in Boston. It has been the snowiest February of all time and we are on pace to be the snowiest Winter in Boston's History! Thankfully, my car has been in a covered garage since the first storm, but I can't say the same about my poor husband's car which has been under a large amount of snow for a while. He's been doing a great job digging it out though! (And I have been cheering for him from inside our warm apartment)

It's time for the next installment of the Stylish Awards. This time, we are going to talk about face products today! Again, I will try to give an award to each a high end product and a more affordable product. Some categories don't have any at all, but I will be happy to give some recommendations. For example, I don't use liquid foundations. I just think they are gross, which I didn't because the bottles look really cool and it just seems like it would be so much fun to use a Beauty Blender or a beautiful foundation brush. But it's not right for my skin, so I won't be recommending any liquid foundations. However, I do have other face products that I absolutely LOVE.

Best Primer (High End): Benefit POREfessional ($10-$42, Benefit Website, Sephora)

A mini size of the POREfessional Primer

I have gone back and forth with whether or not I like this primer. I have only ever received samples of this, but luckily, I believe I have received .6 oz of product samples and I don't use this all over my face. I have been using this, along with a few other primers. I tried the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer, which is not bad. I have also tried the Becca Primer, but I found it too intensely drying. It was great in summer when my skin acts a little more oily, but in the other seasons, it was too intense. I liked this primer at first, then I didn't like it so much. I recently decided to start trying it again and it's now my favorite high end primer. It's a beige colored, but it doesn't have enough color to make an impact on my deeper skin tone (Benefit claims it's "translucent"). If you pat it into the places where your pores are larger (I have large pores on my cheeks) it will fill them in nicely. I also like to use it on places I get shiny. It has a powdery finish on your skin. This is a great product, albeit a bit expensive as most Benefit products tend to be. If you can get your hands on the mini size, it will be last you a while and it's only $10 from Sephora.

**You should know** This product contains both silicones and fragrance. This doesn't irritate my skin, but it is an irritant for some people. It doesn't have much of a fragrance, so I can't figure out why they would add this. For the record, most primers contain silicones and these are perfectly okay for most people to apply to the skin.

Best Primer (Drugstore): Rimmel Stay Matte Primer $5-$7 Drugstores

Disclaimer, I only really like this product in the summer or any other time where the humidity is higher. I tend to get a little more oily at those times and this is a great primer for making sure your T-Zone stays matte. I stumbled on to this at a Walgreens and I usually find that it's sold out at the Rimmel display. This is the only Rimmel product I've ever purchased. Brands that seem to me not terribly friendly to deeper skin tones (Benefit is the other brand I have a love/hate relationship with), I tend to avoid, but the term "Stay Matte" jumped out at me and it was inexpensive, so I gave it a try. I loved this stuff! I loved it more as a mattefier and not as a "primer" per say. This is a white cream, so if you are deeper skin toned, you should be careful with this. Mixing it with your moisturizer is a good idea. Otherwise, it's VERY EASY to put it on and discover ashy white patches on your face when you look into a mirror. I wouldn't use this product if you have dry skin, but combination skins and oily skins especially will love this.

Best Powder Foundation (High End, no drugstore entry): Too Faced Cocoa Powder Foundation

Smells like chocolate!

This is Tan

For a while, I was just into wearing a sheer application of tinted finishing powder instead of foundation because I wanted to see my skin, but I just wanted to even out my skin tone a little. Although my skin looks pretty good, I just wanted the sheerest amount of coverage. I was already a fan of the Too Faced Chocolate Bar and all their related products. This powder foundation is beautiful. I chose the color Tan and there is one darker color. Medium Tan and Tan are very similar, but Tan seemed a better match. This is a very, very soft powder and it comes with a foundation sponge. As with all products that come with a sponge, I have never used this sponge. I'm actually not sure what to do with it.

Being a soft powder, it will kick up a very large amount of powder when you touch your brush to it. I have been using the Sephora Multitasker Mineral Powder Brush to apply it and it works wonderfully. As long as you are very careful with your brush, you will enjoy this foundation. This is a light to medium coverage powder, so you will be able to see your skin through the powder. If you are looking for complete coverage, this is not the product for you. But if you have oily or combination skin and you would like light to medium coverage, this is a great product. It really does have a "rose petal" finish. 

Best Blush (High End): Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush $26, Tarte Website, Sephora 

Some of my Tarte Blush collection. Some Amazonian Clay Blushes with some Cheek Stains also!

Ho boy...I love this stuff. I love blushes in general and just cannot get enough of them and this was a tough choice. There is something about rubbing pink powder on my face that makes me insanely happy and I've been guilty of leaving the house looking like a clown on a few occasions (GET A GOOD LIGHTED MIRROR). Both Nars blushes and Becca Blushes are really nice, but there is something about these blushes that is SPECTACULAR. I own 13 shades of this formula and they are all beautiful, long-lasting and very pigmented. If you have a nice powder brush you do NOT need to pick up a ton of product. Better to start with a little and build these babies up to your desired intensity. I don't know what makes "Amazonian Clay" so magical, but the formula on these is great.

If you are in the store checking these out, they do NOT swatch well. I don't know what the deal is, the formula is a little stiff in the pan and you cannot pick up a lot of color with your finger to try it out. If you need to try it in the store, grab some sort of applicator. I have been very surprised about how lame colors have swatched on my hand from this line and how intensely the color showed up on my cheeks with my blush brush. These are expensive at $26 a pop, but worth the splurge in my opinion. At holiday time, they have had a blush palette for around $40-$45 with five colors in it. This past year, the pans were ALMOST a full size each, so if you can't stomach paying for individual compacts, if you are patient enough to wait for holiday releases (October), you can get many for the price of 2 or something. These blushes are very friendly to brown or deeper skin tones (the peaches and oranges are especially flattering) and the fairest of skin tones will find that Exposed and Dollface are perfect. There's something for everyone in this line.

Best Blush (Drugstore): Milani Baked Blush & Rose Blush $7-$9 Drugstores, Milani Website

Milani Baked Blush in Red Vino and Rose Blush in Romantic Rose

When it comes to most drugstore makeup, I feel like the quality in general of products has been much improved as of late. Most products from the drugstore can compete with the quality of products from high end brands and with some products (such as mascara) can exceed it in performance and quality. For some reason, I have not found a drugstore blush that is as lovely to use as most of the high end products I own. There are certainly some decent blushes out there, but none have impressed me as much as the blushes from the Milani line. Milani is a great drugstore line that makes products that flatter a variety of skin tones, which I find very appealing. Products from this line perform VERY well consistently (not to say that there haven't been some misses) but the blushes are a standout. The baked blushes are lovely and most of them contain a shimmery powder mixed in, but a few are matte. The formula is very smooth and can rival any high end blush. As with all baked products, a light hand should be used upon initial application.

Last Spring they introduced a limited-edition matte blush in which the product was a rose embossed powder. This was such a popular product that they recently re-released it and it is now part of the permanent line in 3 colors. The formula is different as this is not a baked product, but it is GORGEOUS. A review is forthcoming! Who wouldn't want this on their vanity?

Best Under Eye Concealer (Drugstore): Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Concealer $10 drugstores

Notice the gross applicator

Creamy texture, applied to my hand which is darker than my face.

I'm tired. Let's face it. I'm not getting enough sleep and I'm fricking tired. I always seem to have dark circles under my eyes and I've recently taken to putting a small amount of effort in to look less tired. I picked this up from the drugstore in the shade Medium and this stuff is GREAT. I do have to say that the applicator is GROSS. I reluctantly use the applicator because I'm lazy, but you can't really clean it and it's just kind of gross. I also have heard rumblings that the mechanism is a little flawed, but the product inside is great. Sponge it on (gross), blend it out a little, set it with some powder...Boom, you don't look tired. Nothin' more to say.

Best Under Eye Concealer (High End): Tarina Taratino Eye Dream Hyperlight $22 

Dumb, but it should be noted that this brand has exquisite, luxurious packaging

The product on my hand. It's a brightening, salmony pink color

Okay, so this isn't a concealer...it's a brightener. It's a pinky-colored cream in a pen. I received this in a beauty box, which is why I know about it. Otherwise, I would never have tried this product. You know what? It's pretty good! Even on my deeper skin tone, this kind of balances out the dark circles under my eyes and makes me look more awake. You can use this product all over your face as a highlighter as well, but I love this for canceling out dark under eye circles. This brand is not sold at Sephora anymore but I've seen it on Hautelook a few times, so if you are patient...wait until it's on flash sale again and snag one for half price.

Best Highlighter/Luminizer (High End Only...Sorry!): Tie Josie Maran Argan Illuminizer ($28) & Benefit Watt's Up ($30)

Here's the deal with Luminizers or Highlighters. I love them, they are fun and they can add a super lovely glow to your face as a finishing touch. Like a JLo effect. However, I find that when I use these products, I use the smallest, tiniest, most minuscule amount of product. I use much less of this per application than I do ANYTHING. I don't want to look like a disco ball. Just a little on the tops of my cheeks, below my brow and on the cupid's bow above my lips is enough for me. I take serious issue with how much product is included with the full-sizes of these products. Cream products have some of the shortest shelf lives of the cosmetic world (only second to mascara and liquid/gel eyeliners) , so there's no way...unless you were insane with it, that you could use up the entirety of this product before it goes bad. The product waste is insane. That being said...my favorite highlighters are both cream products. Both versions of this product that I own are sample sizes, which I could realistically use up (maybe not the Josie Maran one).

A miniature size of the Argan Illuminizer which is a very generous 0.5oz

The lovely glow

I couldn't make a choice between both of these products because they are both quite lovely. The Josie Maran Argan Illuminizer I received in a giftset with some other Josie Maran color collection items. It comes in a bottle with a pump, which is very sanitary. One entire pump of this product is TOO MUCH. I usually pump a small amount on to the back of my hand and blend it into the tops of my cheeks with my finger or a small stippling brush. The product has a bronze/champagne color. It is not glittery, it simply has a beautiful glow to it. It's subtle and gorgeous. I don't know why more beauty bloggers/vloggers don't talk about this product more. The full size is huge. It's not going to make you look greasy or shiny, it just gives an ethereal effect to your face and it rocks.

100pt Perk Sample size from Sephora

A bit lighter than the Josie Maran product, but just as subtle.

For a company that I have mixed feelings about, Benefit has hit it out of the park with a few products here. Watt's Up is a beautiful, cream stick highlighter. It's a champagne color and is flattering to almost every skin tone. It blends very beautifully and is not over the top shimmery and glittery. Just that JLo Glow that I was going for. It looks beautiful on the skin and is a lovely consistency. You can apply the product directly to your face or use a stippling brush. I got a sample size as a 100pt perk from Sephora as a Beauty Insider but I doubt I would purchase the full size ever. It's just too much product to make a commitment to in my opinion as I like variety, but it is too nice not to mention.

So there are my top picks from 2014 for the face! What do you think? Have you tried or loved any of these products? It's almost the end of February, so these reviews are a little late, but better late than never, right!?

November Favorites 2014 & Blogmas Minus One

Hello, readers! I have been away for a few weeks, but for good reason...my wedding was a little less than a week ago and we are still in crazy newlywed mode! Yesterday was the first day we REALLY returned to work (although I did go to a rehearsal the night after the wedding, so I didn't really take time off from work). So, I'll be doing a full series of posts on my wedding because we got married in an urban area for a really low cost. Considering the average wedding costs $25,000 (in the USA at the time of this post), we spent half as much money and had a GREAT time. Preview...my bridal bouquet was only $10. Here is a sneak preview and of course my first November favorite was...

My Wedding Gown: Zinnia Gown - BHLDN ($1800 retail, no longer available)

Our first dance!

Okay, so seriously: I am OBSESSED with Anthropologie. We all know that as this used to be an Anthropologie focused blog so OF COURSE, I would be a BHLDN bride. For those of you who don't know, BHLDN (pronounced "beholden") is Urban Outfitter's bridal brand which launched in 2011...otherwise known as Anthropologie Wedding Style. I was of course...obsessed with it when it launched. This dress is from the original collection that launched so it's not available anymore, but I was able to snag one on eBay of all places. It was in perfect condition and had only been worn for 2 hours. I am OBSESSED with this dress. It was so fun to wear and non-traditional as it had the fun pops of coral and smoke. The buttons in the back are pretty intense and it took 4 hands to button them, but I was in LOVE with this dress. It's not for a very shy bride, that's for sure. BHLDN still sells beautiful dresses, but I have not been as impressed with subsequent collections after the launch. It seems as though the whimsy has dissipated a bit from the line. However, it's still a really great place to shop for your wedding as most of the things are really lovely. But this dress though...

Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Eyeshadow & Argan Illuminizer: (From the Winter Dreams Argan Color Collection Giftset $34, Exclusively at Sephora, Limited Edition)

Coconut Water Eyeshadow in Rio De Rose Gold, Argan Illuminzer

I honestly only got this set for the Coconut Water Eyeshadow in Rio de Rose Gold because it's so lovely. That product is GREAT. I have a review of my thoughts on the Josie Maran collection forthcoming which concentrates on this set, but the Illuminizer is to die for. For those of you who may be a little scared of glittery powders for your face, this illuminizer is the perfect little bit of glow. You can apply it with your fingers or a small stippling brush and it just gives you a little bit of subtle glow without looking glittery or too shimmery. It's just beautiful and I have been LOVING this.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes ($10-$42, Sephora, Ulta, Tarte Website)

 

Let me make this perfectly clear: I have NEVER purchased a full-sized Tarte Amazonian Clay blush on its own. It's $26 and you freaking get ONE. HOWEVER, I'm totally obsessed with this. I have 8 limited edition colors (you can see 6 here, I have another really cool palette with two more in there) and I can let you know with full confidence, these blushes are worth the hype. They are the bomb.com: Super pigmented, go on smooth, and last FOREVER. When Sephora had its Black Friday $10 little Tarte Set which came with one of these little blushes (in "Magic"), I jumped on it. I thought for 2 seconds about giving it away as a gift, but decided to keep it. The palette on the left is the Pin Up Girl Palette which was exclusive to Sephora, but is sadly sold out forever I think. I was so happy to get my hands on one of these and I am very happy with 4 out of the 5 shades in here and it was a STEAL at $42 considering you get so much product in here. I'm not sure what's going on with that super light beige shade on the left there (Breathless), but it's useless for anything but layering since it doesn't show up on my complexion. I have unexpectedly been just ridiculously obsessed with that cool-toned pink color in the center there (Whimsy). I love the look of the flush of baby pink on my cheeks and I have been basically assaulting this pan with my brush. I'm afraid I will use this color up (not a bad thing). However, all the colors are lovely. This formula is amazing. I can't bring myself to buy a full-sized one yet, but if you can get them in a set, you'll find that Tarte will give you a great deal on a blush in a set as opposed to a single, stand-alone product. If you are a blush lover and you don't have a few of these in your collection, you need a few.

Stila Stay-All-Day Liquid Eyeliner: ($20 at Sephora, Ulta, Stila Website)

This is the bomb. I like to use liquid eyeliners and for a while, I had been a purest and didn't want to use anything but a bush applicator. But I got one of these in a Sephora Giftset and I figured I would try it. It was awesome. It applies like a dream, is super black and is pretty much waterproof. It's the eyeliner I have been reaching for the most and I grabbed a gift set with a full-sized black and mini green, blue and brown liners too at Nordstrom Rack this weekend (the husband and I were Black Friday binging). Not much to say except that these are a great product. 

Bite Lip Products: ($12-$28, Exclusively Sephora) 

My complimentary VIB Rouge Lipstick Mini, Palomino Mini, High Pigment Lip Pencil Mini in 

Maybe I'm the last one to discover how wonderful these lip products are, but I love this line of lipsticks and lip pencils, etc. I had to be given a lipstick (when I became VIB Rouge at Sephora) to try one of these. It. Is. Amazing. No lipstick out there is as creamy, as pigmented and feels as good on my lips than these products. Don't kiss your man (or lady) though...(s)he'll be wearing it too. I don't care though, this lipstick FEELS AWESOME on your face.

GLAMGLOW Supermud™ Clearing Treatment: ($69...omg, Sephora, GLAMGLOW Website) 

Yes, this is a $69 face mask. SIXTY-NINE DOLLARS. I kind of hate myself a little for even recommending it here on this blog but let's be real...whatever is in this is a freaking miracle worker. I got a sample of this from Sephora (as well as the Youthmud one which I was not impressed with) and I was HOOKED. I don't know if there's magic or voodoo or whatever in this, but it's pretty much worth the stupidly absurd price. It pretty much destroys blackheads and has a bizarre pore shrinking effect, which seems to last for a couple of days after using it. My blackheads pretty much wave a white flag after a few times using this. I can't get over the effectiveness of this. That being said...$69 daaaayyyuuummmm...I couldn't bring myself to pay the full price, even during the Sephora VIB sale. I ordered this directly from GLAMGLOW and I used a 30% off discount code (which is no longer valid)  so I only paid $48 dollars for it and I got some free samples (I say ONLY $48, but that's still insane).  The customer service experience with GLAMGLOW was also stellar. A great company. A great product. The price point is pretty crazy, but the product performs and so they pretty much have you by the lashes there. Plus, the packaging says, "Hello Sexy".

So those are all my November obsessions! Do you see any of your favorites here? Let me know! I also have decided to do Blogmas...which means I blog every day in December starting today! I missed yesterday, so I guess one of these days, I'll have to do two posts! *gasp* Are you excited?!

Big Problems During the Sephora VIB Sale!

Admittedly, I only started really shopping at Sephora this year. I've had a Beauty Insider Account (which, for those who don't know, is a point-based loyalty problem) for a while, but I just hadn't really been shopping there until this year when I threw away a bunch of old makeup and started buying high-quality replacements. There are three levels of membership, based on how much money you spend at the store over the calendar year. The next level is VIB and then VIB Rouge. I went a little crazy and reached VIB Rouge about a month ago. It's exciting when you reach that level because they give you a Bite Lipstick. If you've never tried a Bite Lipstick, then you don't know what you're missing. It's extremely smooth and long wearing...but I digress.

It's my impression that once a year, Sephora extends a 20% off discount to VIB and VIB Rouge customers. I was very thrilled to get the notification in my email about the sale and the event (which, because of a rehearsal, I was unable to attend), which was supposed to begin yesterday the 6th and end the 10th. Being the beauty junkie that I am, I filled my cart up with goodies that I would only really want to buy if I got a discount on it. I think, in total, I had 8 things in my cart. Sadly, the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush Palette sold out the day before the sale. SAD! I deleted it from my cart and decided I would try and find it in a store. All I wanted to do was click the checkout button when the sale started and I was going to be good to go. Even though I live near several Sephora stores, I like to shop online because of the mobile offers and/or Ebates. com. I logged on to the Sephora App on my phone, and then this happened:

High Traffic? Wow...amazing. Everyone else must be excited about the VIB sale too! I waited several hours to log back in and got the same message. So, the website and app were officially CRASHED. The website and app were crashed during the most anticipated sale of the year.

When I first learned of this, I thought I would wait it out because I love to shop online, but then it was down for HOURS. By 10am yesterday, I decided that I would just drop by the Boston Sephora store before a rehearsal and try to remember all the items that were in my cart. I honestly was having a hard time, but I managed to snag nearly everything that was in my virtual cart, save one item. I even snagged a Tarte Pinup Girl Amazonian Clay Blush Palette, which was completely sold out online. You can't even view the product on the website anymore.

The sales associates didn't seem to really notice that the website was down when I talked with them about it, but all of them were nice and helpful. I was very thrilled to receive my first 500 point bonus which was a little Urban Decay eye set with four beautiful little eyeshadows and a 24/7 black eyeliner  and a super lame sample of primer potion. I'm a little pissed they adhered the sample to the stupid box, but I guess it's nothing a pair of scissors can't cure. I haven't tried this yet, but the colors look pretty neutral.

The bottom line, is that it's now (as I'm writing this) November 7th at 10am and the site is still down for most customers. Even worse, there is some bug in the system (I am guessing this because I can't imagine a major company would do this on purpose) that is locking the accounts of some customers who use an email address from some Chinese servers, such as qq.com and 126.com. The accounts are not only being locked, but the system is giving those customers the reason for locking as some sort of "Violation of Policy" such as reselling, etc. From what I am reading on the Sephora Facebook Page, store associates have not been very helpful regarding this error and neither has the "Beauty Concierge" via the phone. Sephora PR has been less than responsive regarding this whole blunder, with one Twitter post 20 hours ago apologizing for their website being down. They have been replying to tweets in response to the craziness, but there has been no mention of the Chinese email blunder or any mention of how they are going to attempt to make disappointed customers happy.

I feel for them, because there is a major dropping of the ball here from their IT Department and their PR department. A major retailer's website being dysfunctional for over 24 hours during its major promotion is pretty unacceptable. It hurts me a little to say that because I do love Sephora, but I am shocked that the way this situation is being handled. What do you think? Have you tried to unsuccessfully place an order? Have you gone to the store instead? What are your experiences with the "Beauty Concierge"?

August Boxycharm Review!

For those of you who don't know, Boxycharm is a beauty subscription service similar to Birchbox and Ipsy Bag. Once a month for $21, they send you (free shipping!) 4-5 full-sized beauty products. It's a mix of high-end and drugstore, but this is my 4th box and I've only gotten one drugstore item (it was a mascara, which is great.) Boxycharm is my one and only beauty box subscription right now. What initially attracted me to the service is that they are sending full-sized items every time instead of samples. Not that I hate samples, I just think Boxycharm is the best bang for your buck right now. I have been waiting for it with great anticipation this week and now I'll let you know what's in my box! Disclaimer: This post is NOT sponsored by Boxycharm and I do pay for this box and chose to review it on my own for the benefit of my readers only!

Here is the box in upon opening. It's the Beach Babe Box! This is very exciting because in exactly seven days, I will be on the beach! YES. ALL of the products in this box are full-sized.

The first thing I noticed was a Tarina Tarantino lip color in Floriculture which was a really pretty berry color. I was very thrilled to see this in this month's box because in my June box, I also received a product from this line (which was a highlighter). I loved the highlighter, so I was very excited about this lipstick. The packaging is exquisite. It feels very heavy, high quality and has these adorable little crystals on the side. The color is absolutely gorgeous and it felt really soft on my lips and the color was perfect for me. It was a cute berry shade that goes perfect with my complexion and is exactly the shade of lipcolor I usually like to buy.

Verdict: AWESOME. I am not a lipstick girl, but I will be using this! (Retail price: $22)

Next, I saw this Enter Pronoun Blowtorch Bronzer. Enter Pronoun? What the heck? Well, turns out this is a unisex makeup line. Ok, cool. I also noticed that they don't really have a lot going on in terms of amount of products on their website. It looks like right now they are offering some concealers, this bronzer and an eyeliner. It looks like they are a startup or maybe just being cool by only selling 3 products? Who knows. But this bronzer retails for $35. Imagine me doing a Z-snapping motion after I say THIRTY-FIVE DOLLARS. That is like a YSL or Chanel pricepoint, baby!

That being said, the packaging is STUNNING. It's as beautiful as the Tarina Taratino product is and the bronzer seems nice. That being said...I'm not really a user of bronzer. Honestly, I have never even considered using it, especially since I don't see that many women of color reaching for it. But, I'm sure it's great and I'm going to hold on to it and give it a shot.

Verdict: STAY TUNED. I might use this, I might give it to a friend. Who knows. (Retail price: Once again with feeling...$35)

Next was this ModelCo Cheek and Lip Tint in Rosy Red. I've never tried a ModelCo product before. Is it just for models? Is it made by models? In general, I'm a little suspicious of products that are supposed to be for my lips AND cheeks. My first impression is that when I swatched it on my hand, it wasn't just a tint, it was a STAIN. It had a pretty good staining quality and I couldn't wait to try it on my lips. When you rub it it has a strange brick red color and it felt VERY sticky on my lips. When it dried, it felt okay, but in the 10 minutes that it was wet, it was sticky, sticky, sticky! I didn't try it on my cheeks since I was already wearing Tarte cheek stain.

Verdict: NEUTRAL. It's okay. It's a VERY SUBTLE color payoff (which is what it's marketed to be) for a no-makeup, makeup look. I'll use it and see how it goes. (Retail price $22)

Then there was the Ofra Cosmetics Lip liner in Silk. I watched a few YouTubers open their boxes and I appear to be one of the unfortunate ones who got a lip liner instead of a black eyeliner from this company. I got a stupid lip liner in July's box too. This was extremely disappointing.

Verdict: MEH. Who wears lip liner? I'll probably never use this. If anyone wants this, I'd be HAPPY to send it to you. Disclaimer: I did swatch it on my hand once. (Retail price: $13)

Lastly, I got this powder brush from Morphe Brushes. Here it is...

VERDICT: AWESOME. This brush rules! It's as soft as a bunny, feels really high quality and is a nice large size. I'll be using this to try my new bronzer or whatever. I would buy more brushes from this line. (Retail price: $19.99)

Overall, I was extremely pleased with this box! I was rather disappointed by my July box (which also came late), but this box is far more impressive and an extra bonus for including a Tarina Tarantino product! I can't wait until September's box! If you want to subscribe to Boxycharm, please use this link! This is my referral link and if you sign up, I get boxy "charms" which are points to buy full-sized products.