Tag Archives: gucci

Dec15

Buying Stuff: Episode 23

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Dianna

Just 10 days until Christmas and only 1,457 presents left to buy. Have I told you about the time I waited until the absolute very last minute (i.e., Christmas Eve) to buy gifts? Or that I bought Easter basket trinkets at midnight on Easter where they were, surprisingly, not even discounted? How about those birthday presents that tragically get “rerouted” during delivery end up arriving at my house roughly a week late? I tend to procrastinate with things that stress me out. However, advertise a makeup pre-order for something that’s not even available for 2 or 3 months, and I’ll get that done like yesterday. Perhaps someone’s priorities are skewed? I mean, not mine, but someone else’s?

In any case, I bought stuff:

Your eyes are not playing tricks. I bought the Gucci Lustrous Glow foundation y’all! I was so curious about this product because there were only like two reviews of this YouTube. I wasn’t even sure what color I was, and that quickly became my mission-slash-obsession in life. Like, first find out my Gucci foundation shade, then solve world hunger. I started with Light 030. It seemed to be a touch too light, so I thought it would be safe to go up one notch to Light 040. This one I held onto for about a week trying to decide if it matched. It didn’t un-match necessarily but my face is naturally a little darker than my neck so it was hard to be sure. I went ahead and ordered Light 050 so I could do a proper comparison.

You can imagine all the trouble and expense I’m going through at this point, yes? I had charges for foundations before refunds were processed. Thank God for Discover, that’s all I have to say about that. Finally ended up settling on Light 050. It had the least degree of washing out (if any). I wouldn’t call it a perfect match – a skosh too yellow – but I’d make it work. I mean, it’s Gucci. You don’t return Gucci. It’s in a rule book somewhere, I’m certain.

And was all the trouble worth it? Welllll, it’s a decent foundation. It had a nice natural finish to it. Very slightly glowy on me; it wasn’t “lustrous” by any means. The coverage was light to medium. When foundations are light coverage, I tend to not like them as much because all my ugly bits show through. So keep that in mind. If you have a good complexion to start with, you’ll probably like this foundation more than me. Best part is the lovely packaging. If anything, you can buy this to sit on the back of your toilet for your house guests to admire. A little pricey for bathroom décor, but did I mention it’s Gucci?

It was 3 o’clock in the morning when this happened:

I really shouldn’t have internet access once my husband goes to bed. Cuz I bought the May Lindstrom Honey Mud cleansing silk almost on autopilot. However, it wasn’t alcohol-induced so points for that.

This stuff is advertised as a cleanser. It’s made out of honey and clay and somehow manages to smell exactly like a Tootsie Roll. The consistency is like a pudding before it sets up in the fridge. I won’t lie; you want to eat it. It feels super moisturizing and soft on the skin. I can see this as a very luxurious spa treatment because it’s so elegant and lovely. HOWEVER. I was disappointed that it didn’t seem to clean my skin very well. If you ask me, I’d consider it more as a pre-cleanser than a main cleanser. For an $80 price tag, you should expect more. Like pore gunk removal-slash-zit zapping-slash-magical powers. They do give you the option to apply this as a mask instead, and I can see it working well in that capacity.

A side note: the honey used for this is collected from unsprayed/unfertilized fields of wildflowers in Michigan. So now everything bad I just said went right out of your head didn’t it? Yeah, mine too.

I owned zero products by Tory Burch when I discovered they had a small amount of makeup on the Sephora website. And because I’m in a constant state of needing to own all the things, I picked up this Bronzer and Blush. Shade is called Divine, although that point is moot since it only comes in one shade.

First of all, the packaging will suck you in. I love orange. So warm, so summery. Just looking at it will bring a smile to your face. But the product itself isn’t that bad either. I wouldn’t say you could use each section separately unless you use teeny tiny brushes. Rather, just swirl your brush over all the shades combined. You end up with a very pretty sunkissed glow on the cheeks. I am much more happy with this purchase than originally expected.

If you’re looking to buy Tory Burch makeup, there isn’t a huge selection. Sephora carries lipstick and a lip and cheek tint as well. Hopefully there will be more forthcoming in the future as I am not opposed to buying something else.

Look – something pretty:

Another instance of wanting to own all the things. My first Kevyn Aucoin purchase, and I’d say it’s a pretty good one. Hautelook was having a sale and the only eyeshadow duo left was the #201 Antique Silver/Plum Shimmer. Turns out, that was the perfect duo for me. The purple looks so stunning with my brown eyes. And the silver isn’t like SILVER! but more Silver. Well, I’m sure you know what I mean.

Blendability was excellent. Pigmentation was excellent. I can’t think of anything bad to say. I want to buy all of them, so that could be bad. For my wallet, anyway.

I bought this too:

It’s the eyeshadow palette out of the Tarte Bon Voyage kit. Why didn’t I show you the entire kit? Cuz the only thing I wanted the kit for was so I could get this palette. It is amazing. Great selection of mattes and pretty shimmers. Nothing super glittery. Neutral but still colorful. I got so much use of it for an entire week and never reused a shadow. That’s value. The cost is $59, but this is a 20-pan palette, and larger pans at that. Plus you get extras in the kit like a mini finishing powder, mini cheek stain, mini mascara, and a full size lipgloss and lipstick. Oh, and a mini Maracuja oil. So honestly, it’s got good stuff for a really great price. What I’m trying to say is go ahead and buy this. It’s at Sephora only. And it’s LIMITED EDITION. You panicked yet? You should be.

However, do not buy this:

This is a mucho mucho waste of money. It’s the Bobbi Brown Mini Eye Palette. Super cute packaging, which enticed me first. Then I thought the price ($35) wasn’t too terrible for 8 designer eyeshadows. I mean, it’s not awesome but I suppose you’d could say I’m used to it. My last thought was that I didn’t have a lot of Bobbi Brown stuff, and because I’m very ridiculous, I went ahead and purchased it because that made perfect sense.

Now. I’m not saying this palette wouldn’t work for certain people. But for me it was simply no bueno. Three of the shadows were chunky glitter, and even though they are quite clearly different colors in the pan, absolutely no discernible difference appeared on my eye. The other colors were okay, but very sheer. If I want a sheer look, that would be okay, but more often than not I don’t. The size of the palette is a 2-inch square. This doesn’t bother me, but I wanted everyone to know in case they would be expecting something bigger.

Ever since I’ve gotten this palette, it’s been hiding out in the Train Case of Unused Makeup. It’s probably going to live there. I’m keeping it because the packaging makes me happy and it’s Bobbi Brown (i.e., fancy). Does that make me shallow? Probably.

Last thing:

As if I don’t have enough cleansers or something, I went ahead and picked up the Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip cleanser primarily because I liked the name Ceramic Slip. I really should develop more appropriate shopping techniques. I certainly shouldn’t base my purchases based on clever names, pretty packaging, and whether or not they look like food.

Regardless, though, this is a good cleanser. It doesn’t smell that great. Like it literally smells like the inside of a ceramic pot. That’s probably not its intended smell, but I detect nothing floral, sweet or perfume-y at all. It has black pepper and frankincense in it. Are those good smells? NO. But they’re not horrid, so we can move on.

This cleanser is not moisturizing. It actually physically tightens your skin. It foams up really nice when you use wet hands and makes you feel like you’re getting your face super duper clean. It claims to give me miniscule pores and flawless skin. It’s printed right there on the front of the bottle. They wouldn’t do that if it wasn’t true. Either that, or it’s just a very clever marketing ploy because besides the name, that’s the other reason why I bought this.

Okay friends, we’re at the end. Beauty boxes are arriving so I’ll be getting on those reviews soon. Plus I’m in a constant state of Buying Stuff, so honestly, the fun will never die. Hope it’s warm and sunshine-y where you are. I’m going to go roll up in a ball under a blanket somewhere. Bye!

Nov19

Buying Stuff: Episode 22

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Dianna

Standard

Current status: still freezing. But thanks for checking. I’ll just be over here wearing socks with my heels, sitting on a heating pad, holding my hand around my nose to keep it warm. Or, looking like an idiot, as it is commonly known.

Gratefully, the weather is supposed to get warmer in the next few days, so perhaps my pouting and whining will calm down a bit. Until the next polar vortex that makes it way through, that is. Me and Winter? We ARE. NOT. friends.

In brighter news, I bought stuff:

A little mini Inglot haul! I picked up a lip paint in shade 59 (in the purple family), a gel eyeliner in shade 82 (also in the purple family; kind of a dark periwinkle), and a pigment in shade 56 (a teal). I have decided that I love Inglot so much. The gel eyeliners are the creamiest and best I’ve ever used. They don’t set for 60 seconds, which works fantastically for me because I am never satisfied with my line on the first swipe. In fact, I need a good 20 minutes – but I’ll accept 60 seconds. I challenge you to buy one of these and then disagree with me. It’s impossible I tell you; they’re amazing. And if you think otherwise, well then you are WRONG. There’s no other way to put it.

I adore the pigments. I reviewed them in my Vegas haul if you’ll recall (and if you don’t, click here), and I still feel very much the same. They are stunning, vibrant, and beautiful. I now own four, and that’s a far cry from the zero amount I’ve owned in the past (i.e., my entire life) (i.e., forty years if you’re counting).

I’ve only purchased this one lip paint, and I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a lipstick or a lip gloss. It’s a very pretty color, but it sheers out somewhat on the lips which makes me think it’s a gloss. But it’s not really sticky. It’s creamy, but not thick. Either way, though, I like it and I might end up buying some more.

More fun with purple. See below:

This is the Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadow quad in Glamour Muse. I am so happy that Charlotte Tilbury is now being sold in the U.S. I don’t even know why, as I hadn’t even heard of her until someone on YouTube mentioned her one time. I’m gonna say it’s most likely cuz I wasn’t able to purchase her products that made me want to buy her products. Don’t tell me I can’t have something. That creates a panic in me so fierce that I could probably bend steel rods with sheer OCD force or something. Which I suppose is pretty genius marketing on their part. And also how I ended up with this quad.

Okay, I’m torn about it. At first glance, it’s super pretty. The sparkle is just right. But I bought this because I wanted something PURPLE not just purple. And the vibrant looking shade does not transfer that well onto your eyeball. How unfortunate, for me and for all of the world. Now, if you like a more subtle purple, by all means buy this quad with confidence. Do not be afraid. It will probably most likely be the perfect purple for you.

On a happier note, the longer I wore it (and the more often I stared at myself), the more I actually started to enjoy the eye look. So it turned out alright in the end. It just wasn’t what I was expecting in the beginning, that’s all.

And then! I bought this:

I love having a Color IQ number with Sephora because it tells me when new foundations come out that will match my skin tone. If you haven’t gotten your Color IQ done, I’m pretty sure you’ve stumbled upon this blog by accident, cuz anyone who’s everyone who loves makeup is (or should be) doing this. If you like taking out guesswork, making shopping easy, buying foundation from the comfort of your home without fear and while wearing pajamas, that is.

So here is the Dior Diorskin Star foundation in 32 Rosy Beige. For me, this is a really nice product. It’s pretty lightweight, probably about a medium coverage. Has a nice finish – not matte but not luminous – somewhere in between. It claims to be brightening, which I didn’t really catch, but that might have more to do with my horrid complexion to start with. That’s the problem with a lot of supposedly nice foundations. You can’t put them on top of skin like mine and expect fabulous – it just doesn’t happen very often. So, yeah, I wasn’t wowed or anything. It didn’t knock my socks off. It didn’t make me feel supermodelly (like the Guerlain Tenue de Perfection or Givenchy Photo’Perfexion does). So this foundation will be in my second tier – a high quality, better than average, no IT factor foundation.

I bought a brush:

A Wayne Goss #7 lip brush to be exact. I bought this to go with the Inglot lip paint, as I didn’t feel like going all hillbilly fingers into the pot. We use brushes like refined ladies in here, people. Or else.

What can I really say about a lip brush other than it applies lip stuff? Not much. But I will say the edges are very thin, so if you’re really good at using a lip brush I’d think this one would do a pretty good job for you. Other uses of this brush include gel or powder eyeliner application. I tried the gel version, and you know what? I really suck at gel eyeliner. But others who don’t suck might find this brush a dream. It has somewhat stiff bristles so they don’t go flopping all over the place and allows for some nice precision.

Look at this beauty:

This is the Marc Jacobs Sky-Liner Highliner gel eye crayons kit. Let me preface this by saying this kit is a limited edition. However, the eyeliners themselves are not, so even if it’s 17 months into the future and you are reading this blog, this review should still apply. Unless Marc Jacobs goes out of business, so in that case, kindly carry on.

I love these eyeliners. They are very creamy and easy to apply. The shimmer is beautiful. They last for a very long time on the upper eyelid or below the lower eyelashes. On my waterline, though, they did not last as long. Kind of went patchy in the afternoon. But I have very wet eyeballs so that’s probably the reason. I’ve yet to find an eyeliner with hardcore staying power – the Sumita Beauty one comes the closest, but I’m still on my mission. Regardless, though, these are some pretty, good quality liners and you should go ahead and throw them in your basket.

Whatever you do, do NOT buy the travel size of this item:

It’s the Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm, and if you try it once you will fall madly in love, then wrestle with your conscience regarding the $105 full-size price. Or you can ignore yourself like I usually do. It’s your risk to take. But I swear, I have no idea what this stuff is made of – okay I do; it’s made of thermal mud from the Hungarian Moors – but it’s truly magical. Has an odd little smell verging on licorice, but I’m most likely conjuring licorice due to its black color. Anyway, I use a very small amount and apply it all over my face. The texture is soothing, soft, velvety smooth. Wiping it off is even better cuz then you are left with the skin of a baby’s bottom. At this point, you’re under its spell and your shopping hand starts to get itchy. Also, it removes makeup very well, but that’s beside the point now isn’t it?

I have since bought an Omorovicza travel kit that includes another jar of this balm. I’m hoping by the time I’m done with both jars, my fascination will have been satisfied and I will no longer feel the pull of buying the full size. Because honestly, I don’t WANT to pay that much for a cleanser. Although, I suppose I will if I won’t leave myself alone about it. I can be soooo super annoying sometimes.

If you like colorful eyeshadows, you should buy this:

Ack! I die. This Urban Decay Vice 3 palette is just lovely. That gorgeous green on the top row is what caught my eye initially. And the golds and purples. There are hearts in my eyes right now. I had no issues with pigmentation or blendability. Fallout was pretty minimal if at all. And it comes in a cutesy little iPad case to help make your shopping decision even easier.

So many stunning looks can come out of this palette. My favorite (other than the green of course) is using Lucky – which is the color of a new penny – all over the lid, then adding Alchemy – a bold raspberry – in the outer v. Of course, I’m sure some makeup artist could do it even better, but I was pretty proud of my invention. Pretty sure Urban Decay is about to call me. Or Vogue.

Behold, look what else:

Is your mouth hanging open? Mine is. It’s the new Gucci makeup, specifically the eyeshadow duo in Fume. It’s shockingly beautiful, very luxurious, fancy schmancy, and ooh la la. Practically too pretty to even use, what with all those little Gs stamped into the shadow. However, I did use it – just once so far – and lemme just say that sometimes I question my own makeup skills. How could something this lovely not turn out even more lovely once applied? There was more pigmentation in the pan than on the eye. What did I do wrong? I suppose I could’ve wet my brush first to see if that made it better, but putting something wet into something dry gives me anxiety, like there’s a never-turning-back event about to happen, and it stops me from doing it. That’s most likely the #1 reason I hate washing my hair. Which has nothing to do with this eyeshadow, but still.

I’ll keep playing with it. I’m determined to not give up. I’ll do it for my people (that’s you), so you will continue reading (and loving) this blog.

We’re at the end. You’ve made it. Now wasn’t that fun? Be sure to come back again and again cuz I write updates all the time. You won’t want to miss out on anything. Trust me.

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