(image from sephora.com)
I received a lovely gift card to Ulta and treated myself to a birthday shopping spree, of sorts. First on my list was the Bare Escentuals Brilliant Gold Beauty Duo. I am a huge fan of everything Bare Escentuals makes, in particular their bareMinerals collection and their Buxom collections. If you've never tried any of their products, I recommend the Mineral Veil especially. This special edition of Mineral Veil contains gold powder and comes in a lovely gold, compact-style container and brush. At first, I was concerned I might get the too glittery/might be a Ke$ha impersonator look. However, Bare Escentuals never lets me down! It gives my skin a beautiful, soft, and slightly dewy look, that could carry anyone seamlessly from season to season.
(image from scene7.com)
Next on the list was bareMinerals new High Shine Eyecolor. It was somewhat hard to decide which color to choose, but I went with Moonshine; which is a beautiful, deep plum color. I was impressed by how I was able to achieve an almost foiled-look using loose powder. The applicator is fantastic, as are the colors. However, it can get a bit messy, so make sure you are over a sink when you open it...pro tip!
Not so new stuff:
(image from abeautyaddict.com)
Meet one of the current loves of my life! After much gawking online, I finally broke down back in August and went on the hunt for Urban Decay's Naked Palette. I can safely say, I truly believe this is one of the best cosmetic purchases I have ever made. It has everything I like; lots of shades, a variety of finishes, and blends well. I am obsessed with Sidecar, just to put that out there. Also, it comes with Taylor's favorite, Primer Potion...which makes everyone's life better, truly! I am also really proud of this purchase, simply because they were selling-out so fast. Even my local, somewhat obscure Ulta had to tip me off as to when the next shipment came in. I grabbed the last one, and felt truly ruthless about it.
(image from in-my-bag.com)
I'm a big lash kinda girl. I am obsessed with Cover Girl Lash Blast to begin with, but Lash Blast Fusion is even better! I couldn't tell a huge difference between the two products, except for that Fusion seemed to give my lashes a bit more definition, while still being full...if that's possible. Either way, you can't miss with this stuff. What I also love is that it proves that quality make-up does not always have a designer name. No make-up snobbery here, just classic Cover Girl.