Smith's Rosebud Salve...in a Tube!

I've always seen Smith's Rosebud Salve as I stood in line for the cashier at Sephora. Several times, their cute little metal tins have called out to me as I tried to resist grabbing any more little knick knacks on the way to the register. Those clear containers that you have to line up next to? Pure evil! A guaranteed way to make a girl spend JUST A LITTLE MORE by causing acute shifty-eye-syndrome and chronic just-one-more-thing disease. They sure as heck work on me. :P

Although I've been guilty of indulging in one of those smaller-sized products near the counter, I never bought the Smith's Rosebud Salve. Even though I knew that it had rave reviews and seems to show up on everyone's list of "must-haves," I was always turned off by the little tin. Even though it's vintage-looking and cute (and, in addition to the original Rose-scented balm, also comes in flavors like Minted Rose and Strawberry), every time I opened the sample, the product inside was melted and all over the place, making it look very messy and unhygienic. And so, I would wistfully walk away from a potentially great lip balm because of its packaging.


This all changed when I discovered that they now have the same lip balm in a tube! I picked one up right away and have been using it religiously ever since. This product really is wonderful. It smells of roses, but not in an overbearing way. Just very clean and comforting. Apparently it's a "multitasking miracle balm" that "not only moisturizes and soothes dry lips; it also calms and heals irritation, soothes the sting of minor burns, helps heal cuts, tames mangled cuticles, helps fix ashy elbows and knees, and minimizes diaper rash."


Close up of the tube opening


I haven't tried it on anything but my lips, but I'm sure that it would work great on ragged cuticles and dry spots. The formula feels moisturizing without being sticky. It goes on very easily due to its almost gloss-like consistency. It comes out as a pale peachy pink, but goes on clear. The only gripe I have with this lip balm is that I find it doesn't go well with lipstick if you're planning to wear some on top of it. Because it's so shiny and glossy, lipstick won't go on as well as it would with, say, a drier stick formula like Burt's Bees. That being said, I don't really have any complaints because I'm fine with using this balm on its own. It adds some shine without color, perfect to put on without a mirror and then go on with my day. I wouldn't say it's my pick for favorite lip balm, but it's definitely up there in terms of quality, value ($6 for the tube and $7 for the tin, but I think it will last you a while either way), and cuteness factor.

If you're already a fan, but are tired of the tin leaking melted lip balm all over your purse or having to use your finger, you'll like this new convenient tube format. If you've never tried Rosebud Salve, you should give it a go, especially now that they have a variety of packaging for you to choose from.

If you're doubtful, just give in to that little voice inside your head and pick up a cute tin or tube the next time you're in line at Sephora. ;)

You won't be disappointed.

Urban Decay NAKED Palette!!!

Yes, I caved. Yes, I had to make it mine. Yes, it's worth every penny!

What is there to say about this palette that hasn't already been said?? Urban Decay came out with their Naked palette this summer, and it was an instant hit amongst all make-up lovers, blogs, and youtube videos alike. Even though this is a permanent item, it sold out quickly...and is still apparently difficult to get a hold of? I know that when I first started to become interested in it a few weeks ago, I checked every Sephora within my area, and none of them had it in stock. The palettes are even sold out online! I just went to Sephora again yesterday, and yup, still out of stock.

Coincidentally, I happened to stop by my nearest Ulta for the first time a few weeks ago and came across an Urban Decay display. Lo and behold! THREE Naked palettes left! I grabbed one for myself, and notified my friends who have also been looking for it. Unfortunately, I must have gotten lucky that day because by the time one of them got there, they were all sold out--and still are. I checked the Ulta again yesterday, too. Lol.

I've been putting off this review for as long as I have because I didn't want to swatch the colors. Does anyone feel this way?? Whenever I have a pretty palette, I take the longest time to use it because I don't want to disturb its original state!


So for the past, oh, 3 weeks?...my Naked palette has been in its plastic package, only taken out occasionally for me to admire but not use. :P

And admire it I have. This is the most sophisticated-looking palette that Urban Decay has put out to date. It looks very sleek with its brown velvet-feeling cover and gold font. It just feels and looks very luxe and elegant!


The description on the back


The set comes with the actual eyeshadow palette and UD's cult favorite Eyeshadow Primer Potion on the side


Isn't the mini bottle absolutely adorable??


Typical Primer Potion wand

And now, the moment of truth....


...The inside!!!


Left side of the palette


Right side~

Now for the swatches! I hesitated a bit before I dipped my finger into the shadows, but now that I have, I can't wait to start using them!

I'm sure you've already read a lot about this palette on other blogs, so I'll keep it short and sweet. Like always, Urban Decay eyeshadows didn't fail me. The colors are rich, pigmented, blend well, and are extremely wearable. I really really love this palette, even though they're all neutrals, because it's something that I'll actually use. Usually their other palettes have bright colors that I wouldn't use, but I see myself utilizing every shade in this palette for both day and night time looks. The palette is both office-appropriate and, with a little more shadow packed on, good for a night on the town.

Look!

From left to right: Virgin (nude satin), Sin (champagne shimmer), Naked (buff matte), Sidecar (beige sparkle), Buck (brown matte), Half Baked (bronze).


Smog (golden brown shimmer), Darkhorse (bronze-plum shimmer), Toasted (taupe-bronze), Hustle (mocha shimmer), Creep (near-black metallic, Gunmetal (dark gray metallic).


The set also comes with a dual-sided 24/7 liner in Zero (black) and Whiskey (reddish-brown; this is a new shade). Urban Decay's liners are great (wide range of color choices, good opacity and staying power), so I was happy to have this included.


The shade that's in almost everyyyy Urban Decay palette. It's ok, but I prefer my Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes.


This is Whiskey. I have a 24/7 liner in Bourbon, which is a more cool-toned brown with sparkle. I think I like Bourbon more.


Swatches of Zero and Whiskey


Swatch arm :P

There's no denying it, this is quite possibly my favorite palette that I own. For once, the product is worthy of its hype. Good thing it's a permanent item! Urban Decay, you need to hurry up and ship out more of these babies. The people are waiting!

And while you're doing that, do you think you could ship out a couple hundred more Alice in Wonderland palettes too?? :)

Mixed Fruit Tart

Speaking of berries...Here's a mixed fruit tart that I made a few weeks ago. Looking at the pictures now makes me hungry for a fat slice of it! This is quite possibly the most impressive thing that I have baked thus far, but it wasn't actually that difficult to make! I, of course, relied on smittenkitchen once again for the crust and the pastry cream, and this site for some more tart-making tips.

I mentioned in my last post how much I love autumn and winter, but the one thing I miss most about summer (besides nice weather) is the abundance of produce. All my favorite fruits and vegetables are at their prime during summer and spring. This tart has very simple elements, and the fruit is the star attraction, so make sure to use things that are in season for the best flavor. Unfortunately, berry season is almost over so I'll have to start making apple tarts...


This is the creme patissiere (pastry cream). This stuff is like crack. You don't even need to make the tart; just make this cream and dip with shortbread cookies, cut fruit, cake, your fingers...it's seriously that good!


And it has to be good. It required an actual vanilla bean and it's made from butter, milk, and eggs. How can that combination not be good?? Well, maybe if you're talking about your figure....but hey, we're not going to think about that right now!


The most difficult part of this tart was the shell, or pate sucree. But if you have a nice removable bottom tart pan (thanks bf!) and some patience, it should turn out just fine.



See those slashes in the crust?? I had to run some errands while it was baking and asked my mom to keep an eye on it. She slashed it with a knife when she thought it was puffing up too much...lol. This picture was taken while I was spreading apricot jam on the crust to prevent the cream and fruit from making it too soggy...nice tip!


Putting in the pastry cream...


Arranging the fruit...


Almost done...


Finished product!


Me, super happy with the results of my first fruit tart


My family was happy, too. It was gone in 5 minutes. Literally. I didn't even get a slice! I barely got to take a bite from my cousin's plate. But trust me, it was goooooooood :)

NARS Strawberry Fields

Hope everyone had a great weekend! :) Monday's already winding down for me, thank goodness! It's always so hard for me to get back to the daily grind after a nice weekend. But that's life!

Today marks the beginning of my transition into fall fashion and make-up. Summer is quickly fading, and as the weather gets cooler, my lip color choices get darker. It's about this time of year when I start to dream of sleek pea coats, warm scarves, and knee-high boots. Though I still love summer, now that I'm older I realize I actually like fall and winter a teensy bit more. Blasphemy, I know! But really, I love to bundle up in different layers and experiment with red lipsticks more than stripping down to a bikini and trying not to blind people with my ghastly white legs in shorts. :P I am definitely more suited for colder weather, as I CANNOT stand temperatures above 80 degrees or humid climates. Plus, there's the holiday season, heartier foods to make (chili and beef stew anyone??), snowboarding to look forward to (yay!!!), I can go on and on...!


ANYWAY, seasonal tangents aside, today I have for you the first of my fall make-up acquisitions. NARS lip gloss in Strawberry Fields, which sounds like summer but is reminiscent of autumn's rich colors.


Described as a "bright strawberry pink" and packaged in the brand's signature black and white, this is supposedly a limited edition item that came out this summer. Now, I love NARS lip glosses, but I definitely don't buy them for their bold colors. Compared to many other brands, NARS' glosses are generally sheer. However, what they lack in pigmentation, they make up for in the formula and staying power. These babies are definitely in the higher end of the lip gloss spectrum, both in price ($24 each) and quality. They go on easily without drying out your lips. And as a plus, the tube itself is sophisticated-looking. ;) I always love seeing a NARS lip gloss when I look into my purse.


Strawberry Fields strays from the NARS norm because it is quite possibly the most pigmented lip gloss that I have in my collection. It's definitely the most pigmented gloss that NARS has come out with so far.


I think it's my favorite NARS! Its typical doe foot applicator makes it a cinch to apply, and you definitely don't need very much for your lips to stand out. This color is bold, but there's nothing garish about it. In fact, I would consider it a very grown up shade to wear. Definitely different from a red lipstick, but just as pretty. Also, I wouldn't consider this a "pink"; it's definitely more of a berry.


Swatch on my arm. Look how opaque the color is!


Even when the color fades away, there's still a faint stain that stays on your lips for the rest of the day. Or if you want the look of a stain without the shine, slick on a bit of this lip gloss and blot off most of the excess with a tissue. Instant stain without having to buy another product!


The color's so rich and vibrant. It's right up my alley :)


If you're looking for a gorgeous berry shade this fall, go get NARS Strawberry Fields! Even if you're skeptical of bright colors like this, you should still try it out. I think this shade would be nice on a variety of skin tones, and it's much easier to pull off than diving into bright lip colors with red.

I hope NARS keeps this in their permanent collection! It's too good to be just limited edition!


'Til later! <3

Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense #36

Today is all about the last of the three Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense lipsticks that I picked up. Unlike her sisters #37 and #38, which I picked up as an afterthought (reviews and swatches here and here), I went into Sephora knowing for sure that I wanted #36 after reviewing the colors available online. I had been looking for the perfect, shimmer-free hot pink, and never found exactly what I was looking for until MUFE came out with this line.

Straight out of the tube, #36 already looked promising. It's bright, bold, and without a hint of sparkle. Yay!


Performance-wise, it's just as pigmented and long-lasting as I expected. I was and continue to be really impressed with this line of lipsticks.


This is a swatch of #36 next to a swatch of the go-to fuchsia that I had before: Lancome Color Fever in Rock Icon Fuchsia. While I still love my Lancome, it has a blue sheen to it that made it darker than I wanted in a hot pink lipstick. I never classified it as anything other than FUCHSIA. The MUFE is perfect in that it is pure hot pink on the lips!


Here's #36 on my lips. For some reason, its daring color brings out different sides in me. ;) I initially wanted a hot pink lipstick to wear for nights out instead of the typical nude or red. This is definitely a fun color that's great for night time when worn in its full glory, but at the same time, it looks beautiful during the day time when you pat it on sparingly like a stain.


This is a more blurry, unfocused swatch, but the lip color shown is actually more true-to-life than the swatch above. BRIGHT, right?


I told you this lipstick brings out different sides of me! :P I feel almost like a rock star with this color. Paired with a light steel/gunmetal smoky eye or a defined cat eye with black liquid liner, #36 would complete the look nicely.


Here's the nicer side of the lipstick. :D Unfortunately, my camera isn't good enough to pick up the true richness of the pink. In fact, it drastically washes out the color :/


This one makes me the happiest out of the 3 Rouge Artist Intense lipsticks I have! Though I no longer have endless summer nights to wear this, I'll gladly transition this bold shade into autumn. It's definitely atypical to wear a shade like this during autumn and winter. After I bought this though, it was mentioned in Allure's Daily Beauty Reporter as one of the Top 5 Fall Trends. So I guess I'm not the only one who thinks hot pink is appropriate for warming up colder days? ;) Who needs scarves and mittens when this smoking color is on your lips? Haha!


Have a great weekend everyone! If you get the chance, definitely go check out #36!

Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Cleansing Foam

My skincare regimen has always been limited to Cetaphil cleanser and, in recent years, Philosophy products, including such favorites like Purity Made Simple cleanser, The Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash, and Hope in a Jar moisturizer. I've never tried the Shiseido skin care line before, but I really like their sunscreen, so I figured I would give the White Lucent Brightening Cleansing Foam a try since it was a deluxe sample for Beauty Insiders at Sephora one day.


I brought home the generously-sized sample with high hopes because it has pretty good ratings online. The description on the Sephora site says that it's "a gentle cleansing foam that whisks away impurities with a fresh, creamy lather." It supposedly "purifies the complexion and promotes a look of inner radiance, without stripping moisture" while a "dose of micro white powder helps remove dead surface cells to boost clarity and luminosity."


The cleanser comes out of the tube in a white cream form, but quickly foams up once you put it on a damp face with some water. The first time I used it in the morning, I noticed an immediate radiance to my skin. Right after cleansing, my face looked brighter than it usually does. I've been really big on brightening my skin lately (not the same as whitening!), so I was initially really happy and optimistic that I had found a good cleanser to incorporate into my routine. The Shiseido cleanser definitely felt different from my Cetaphil and Philosophy cleansers in that the other two are more milky and non-foaming. The Shiseido felt moisturizing as I was smoothing it over my skin, but once I started washing it off, there was an immediate and noticeable tightening feel--not in the good pore-tightening way, but in a drying out the skin way.

I gave the sample a one-week trial period, but by day 6 I could not stand it anymore. Though the possible brightening effects were tempting at first, ultimately this cleanser did not work for me. I figured out that it was because of the foam format. My skin did not take well to a foam cleanser. Foams are just too drying for my sensitive skin, and it was starting to show signs of breaking out due to the lack of moisture. And I haven't even mentioned the dry patches! Ugh.

I suppose there's a reason why I go for milky lotion-like cleansers like Cetaphil and Philosophy: they clean my skin well without stripping it of much-needed moisture. I switched back to my morning Cetaphil routine right away and within a few days, my skin calmed down again. I guess this teaches me to not stray too far from what already works, right? A prime example of "Don't fix it if it's not broken." The next time I decide to test out a new cleanser, I'm going to steer clear of foams :/

Those of you with more oily skin, though, would probably like this cleanser. I'm disappointed that it didn't work for me, but honestly, I think the effects and formula are quite good. If Shiseido came out with this exact product in a non-foaming form, I would probably like it. But for now, I'm going to have to count myself out for this one. Let's hope my next Shiseido experience is better!


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Do any of you have any Shiseido recommendations? Likes? Dislikes? Do tell! :)