Review - Tarte Royal Collection

My lovely boyfriend took the hint I gave him for Christmas (I would just LOVE either a Sephora or Ulta giftcard) so I had an opportunity to pretty much pick out anything I wanted at Ulta.  The selection was endless and almost dizzying, but my eye fell on the beautiful Tarte Royal Collection in its oppulent ruffled box.  After going between this and the Lorac Holiday collection for a bit, I finally decided I couldn't live without the Tarte collection. 

       It includes:

• Sixteen full-sized eye shadows
• Deluxe clean slate natural face primer
• Deluxe lights, camera, lashes!
• Deluxe multipleEYE, a lash-enhancing primer
• Deluxe vitamin-infused lip gloss

So, what's the story?

I got this baby home and was so excited to try it out.  8 of the shades are matte, 8 are shimmery, and all are gorgeous.  Shades range from pale baby pink, bright shimmery purple, deep navy blue, and matte taupe to bright silver and beautiful gold.  What drew me to this palette was a the wide array of colors that can take anyone from demure daytime looks to sultry nightime ones in minutes.  I also love the sample items, as I've never tried those particular Tarte products but wanted to.  As an added bonus, the small drawer on the bottom pulls out and is perfect to store the sample items plus whatever else you want - I keep my eyeshadow brushes and eyebrow powder in it, so I have everything in one place.

This was my first experience with Tarte eyeshadows and I have to admit at first I was rather dissapointed.  For some reason the shades looked blotchy on me and wouldn't blend.  I usually use mineral eyeshadow or Urban Decay which blend beautifully, so perhaps I've been a bit spoiled.  I was tempted to return this on the 3rd day even though I loved the colors so much but I just had to give it more time.  I realized that A. my makeup remover might have left residue on my eye that caused the shadows to stick a bit, and B. since I usually use mineral shadows I probably wasn't using the right brush.  Today is my 7th day using it and I seem to have figured out some trick to it, as I can now get them to blend and they go on silky smooth - they almost remind me of a cross between a cream and powder shadow and blend into the eyelid itself wonderfully. I wouldn't recommend using more than 2-3 colors at a time or they can get muddy.  Also, the darks are very dark - the dark navy and deep brown shimmer shades make great liners and look gorgeous in the box but show up almost black on the eye.  The shadows do crease a bit towards the end of the day, so I would recommend a primer with them if you have oily lids. 


I really like all the shades in this collection and they would look phenomenal on any eye color.  My favorites are the light and dark matte purple, the top pink shimmer and the bronze shimmer next to it, and the deep brown as a liner with matte taupe or pink.  I have been having a lot of fun trying out a new eye look every day and being creative with it.  I think Tarte put together a great selection of shades to compliment any eye and skin color that also can be used easily for natural or dramatic eye looks.  I keep it on my counter and have used it every day since I bought it, so that's a good sign!


Overall Grade: B+
Pros: Versatile colors, great mix of matte and shimmer shades, useful extras, easy day-to-evening collection
Cons: Slightly hard to blend, creases towards end of day, dark shades show almost black on eye

Review - Lily B. Rose Hip Infused Facial Wash - All Natural

Lily.B skincare provides skincare products for the 20-30 somethings out there like me.  From their site; 'Most skin care lines focus on the acne years or on rejuvenation and repair. We looked for a line focused on the needs of "in between" skin… your skin, and when we couldn't find one, we created one. Lily.B Skincare is smart skin care. Our advanced products are all-natural and are formulated using cosmeceutical-grade, active botanicals and sea-sourced ingredients, providing exceptional antioxidant protection, loads of skin nourishing benefits, and importantly, skin-friendly hydration. Lily.B Skincare products are free of skin irritating ingredients such as parabens, sulfates, glycols, synthetic fragrances or colors. We have created some of the best skin care products to effectively and gently cleanse, nourish, and protect your skin.'

Lily.B was kind enough to have a contest through BeautyUndercover.com, and I was lucky enough to win a Rose Hip Infused Facial Wash.   According to their website, it will wake up your skin while it gently but thoroughly removes impurities including makeup, without drying or irritating even the most sensitive skin. Infused with the natural antioxidant power of rose hip to protect, balance and soothe; and olive oil to gently cleanse and exfoliate, your skin will feel clean and calm….. and perfectly prepared to moisturize. Suitable for all skin types.


So, what's the story?

Use: This face wash comes in a pump and I use about 1 1/2 pumps for my entire face, massage, and rinse with warm water.
 
Results: The product has a pleasant almost flowery smell that is not overpowering and the texture is silky smooth.  I love that it has all natural ingredients.  After using the face wash my skin does not feel dry or tight as it has in the past with cleansers, instead it feels smooth and clean.  Generally with foaming pump cleansers I have not felt like my skin is actually clean and use a lot more product than I probably need because of that.  Also, a lot of foaming cleansers I've tried didn't get all my makeup off and that's a big pet peeve of mine.  Lily.B does a great job of cleansing, refreshing, and evening out my skin tone both morning and night and removes every trace of makeup on my face.  I would love to try this with their Daily Moisturizer, I bet the two together would work great - and who doesn't love a natural cleanser that actually delivers on its promises?

Overall: A
Pros: All natural, removes all makeup, gentle
Cons: None!

Music Time - Ghostland Observatory

Now playing - Ghostland Observatory, Paparazzi Lightning, 2006. 
From Wikipedia  - 'Ghostland Observatory is an American music duo based in Austin, Texas. Their music has been described as a combination of electro, rock and funk by Allmusic, and "electro-dance soul rock" by Gothamist.<sup>' 

I downloaded this today because I am going to Wakarusa Music Festival in June, and this band is on the artist lineup.  I like to research bands before I see them, especially at festivals because there are so many artists there that sometimes you have to choose which ones to see and which ones to miss.  This is a highly recommended album if you like a good beat, interesting vocals, and a bit of fun in your music!</sup>