Tag Archives: tory burch

Jul16

Buying Stuff: Episode 26

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Dianna

Insider Tip #257: When you go to your annual skin check at the Dermatologist’s office, plan ahead and make sure you’re wearing your nice underwear. Because regardless of who is looking at you almost naked, it’s less uncomfortable if you’re not sporting a baggy, pilled-up cotton, 6-year-old pair of underpants. Not that I know firsthand or anything, I just randomly thought of it and figured it’d be a handy little tip worth sharing.

Look, I bought eyeshadow!

This is the Givenchy Prisme Quatuor eyeshadow quad in #7 Tentation and IT. IS. TERRIBLE. It is also the only time I’ve ever received something that I put actual effort towards returning. Well, would you spend $58 on something that doesn’t work AT ALL and then store it away under your bathroom counter for the next 15 years? I mean, I would cuz I’m ridiculous, but would YOU? Cuz when you’re Givenchy there’s a certain expectation to uphold, and this was not it. Pigmentation was seriously lacking; even the glittery green looked muddy and matte on the eyelid. These colors should have been beautiful. And for once, the reviews on the Sephora site agrees with me. I can’t speak for the other quads, however, but Buyer Beware. This also has a six month shelf life, so what started out bad just got worse.

And now for a high quality, professional photograph:

Hush. I know. In my defense, I accidentally deleted the pic off my phone so I had to screenshot it from my Instagram, then crop it. I went to a lot of trouble to present it for you. Even more trouble when I tell you I’ve only used it one time.

I’m having bad luck with eyeshadow palettes lately, especially ones from designers. However, this Tory Burch one in Cat’s Meow isn’t as bad as the Givenchy. All of these shades had pigmentation, but the payoff wasn’t as impressive as I thought they’d be. Surprisingly, the two darker shades on the bottom looked about the same on my eyelid even though they clearly are not. The tones of them are more muted than vibrant, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing depending on what you prefer. They give you a more smoky effect than anything else, and they kind of wore off my eyeball by the end of the day (even with primer). I am going to pull it out again this week and have another stab at it. It cost me $60 so something tells me it’s the right thing to do.

I need to stop buying expensive eyeshadow palettes. Case in point:

It’s the NARS Dual Intensity eyeshadow palette and it cost $79, which is clear evidence I make very poor decisions. Yes, it’s pretty. Yes, it’s limited edition (and therefore puts me in a brainwashed kind of panic). But pigmentation on these is not as vibrant like you’d expect and I don’t find myself reaching for it much if at all ever. The shadows can be used wet or dry, and when wet they do give off a much better, bolder color. But who wants to be messing around with water in their eyeshadow? Cuz although this palette is made to get wet, I’d somehow manage to ruin it.

These are pretty:

This is an eye look I created using the Colourpop Supershock eyeshadows in the Shaaanxo collection. I will admit I bought this because I watch Shaaanxo on YouTube, and if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I do everything YouTube tell me to do. So these eyeshadows are interesting. First of all, they’re like $5 so super affordable. But they are unlike any other eyeshadow I’ve ever had. They are like a cream/powder hybrid. They are kind of wet like a cream, a bit squishy when you poke your finger into them (the fun part!), but you can apply them like powder. Granted, your fingers are the best tools to use with these shadows, but have you ever tried to blend your inner corner with a ginormous sausage finger? It’s nigh on impossible. I stick with brushes and somehow make it work.

More evidence that YouTube has made me its bitch:

What normal person has heard of Viseart cosmetics? Nobody. Unless you are a makeup artist – a real one, not one of those pretend ones on Instagram. So when I saw another of my Beauty Gurus swatching this Sultry Muse palette – who then had the audacity to tell me where I could go buy one of my very own since Sephora decided to do us all a favor and start carrying the line – I took about 1.5 seconds to think about it before I threw it in the shopping cart. And yes, they are gorgeous. They are everything you’d want an eyeshadow to be – buttery, pigmented, blendable. So naturally they cost a billion dollars (or $80, but close enough). Can’t say I’m too regretful. I don’t mind spending money on something I like. I’d rather get it for free, but if that’s not available, what choice do I have? Sephora is constantly out of stock on these – they are very much an in demand product. Which means you are panicking and NEED TO BUY ONE RIGHT AWAY. Or maybe that’s just what my brain does.

How about another photo of my eye:

I did not hear good things about the Hourglass Modernist eyeshadow palettes but I just felt like spending $58 on something. One thing for sure, the pattern molded into the palette is enough to suck you in. I love how ripple-y it looks. When I saw that, nothing else mattered. Is that shallow? Probably.

There are 7 palettes in the collection and I picked Color Field, the green one. Amidst the flurry of no-pigmentation claims, I created the eye look you see above and I was quite impressed. I thought there was plenty of pigmentation, and everything blended together so nicely. Perhaps some of the other palettes are not as good, but Color Field worked just fine. Granted, I used it just one time then stored it under my bathroom counter never to be see again, but THAT IS NOT THE POINT.

Speaking of pigmentation, I give you these:

Do you hear angels? I do. These are the Makeup Geek Foiled eyeshadows and they are the best most pigmented, vibrant, luscious eyeshadows on the face of the planet. This is not a joke. One gentle swipe is all you need for maximum payoff. They have an almost wet texture to them – apparently they have a higher oil content – and certain brushes give you better application. The MAC #239 or any of its dupes works really well. Or you can use your fingers, but again I don’t prefer that method. If you don’t have the MAC one or a dupe, any shader brush that has dense bristles will work.

There are a couple of cons though. The price for one eyeshadow is $10 so if you want to own the entire current collection, that’s $200 out of your pocket. I’m not saying I spent the last few months buying every single Makeup Geek eyeshadow available or anything, but I probably did. It didn’t hurt as bad until I got to the foiled shadows. Ouchie. But once I start on a project, I literally have to finish it because my OCD says so. Yes, I’m quite aware I have a problem.

The other con is these shadows are very delicate and can crumble on you with no warning. I swear I haven’t been throwing them around the room – they’ve been sitting gently in a Z-Palette the entire time – but two of my shadows have random chunks coming out of them. Not a huge deal since you can just press them back into the pan, but it is kind of annoying. And since they are $10 each, any crumb missing might as well be the Hope Diamond or something.

Let’s end on a bummer, shall we?

Who wants to buy a palette that looks like a quilt on the inside? Me! And who wants to pay $96 for it? Me! Wait … wait?! I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought the By Terry Eye Designer palette but I’m pretty sure it has 97.93766% to do with that stupid pattern stamped into the eyeshadow. Who’s the most ridiculous person on the planet? I’m not even gonna answer that question cuz you already know.

These are new and come in two styles. I bought the #2 Color Design because of the vibrant fun colors. And yes, it is a beauty to look at. And makes a very cool Instagram photo as evident by the 81 likes it’s currently received. But good gracious it’s pricey! And to be honest, I don’t think it’s worth it. Sure it looks fancy, but I did not find the pigmentation on any of these to be particularly good. Or not $96 worth of good. And I don’t know about you, but if I’m spending that much money on anything, it bygod better be the best thing that’s ever been invented. I’m keeping it until I die though because I figure eventually I’ll use it at least one more time by then. Hashtag JUSTIFIED.

In case you haven’t noticed but I’m extremely behind this month already. What is time? Where does it go? I dunno, guys. Sometimes I just paint my nails for three hours in the evening instead of doing something important. Although painting my nails is pretty important, but I imagine my husband thinks scooping cat poop is more important. He is WRONG. Bye Friends!

Dec15

Buying Stuff: Episode 23

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Dianna

Standard

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!

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