Shakeup Your Makeup

By now you have probably seen the new, updated, and improved Suave Professionals line at your local drug store or super center.  I actually didn't realize they had redone the line until I (literally) fell over a display in the middle of my Meijer store about a week or so ago.  Once I got up and collected myself, I decided to pick up the Touchable Finish Hairspray and the Vibrant Shine Spray.  I'm always intrigued by shine sprays because I used to absolutely adore the Nick Chavez Cello Gloss, but not only was it a bit pricey for me, but I don't think it's actually available any more.  I will say, the fragrance and results were amazing, though! 

Suave's Vibrant Shine Spray is not an aerosol, but instead a pump spray that is said to restore shine as well as Sebastian Trilliant.  I haven't used Sebastian, but what I will do is compare this to the Nick Chavez Cello Gloss I spoke about earlier.  The Cello gloss was in a small, aerosol can that you sprayed on top of your hair once your style was complete.  It had a very good fragrance, almost like honeydew and made your hair shine like it was faceted.  Like I said, Suave is in a little pump bottle.  The fragrance is similar to the Nick Chavez Gloss, having a somewhat warm, melon scent.  It's not overwhelming, but just enough to make you go..."mmm...".  The product actually says to "shake to activate the mineral bursts and spray".  You'll see why in the closeup below...



See all those little sparkles in the bottle...no? 

Well let's take a closer look...

Once you shake the bottle, all these little silver shimmers incorporate into the liquid, giving your hair all sorts of sparkle and shine.  They actually do settle to the bottom if you don't shake it in between uses.  Now, don't get me wrong, these are not chunks - you won't look like a junior high cheerleader at a competition with this spray in your hair.  Instead, these add facets and shine to your hair.  Not only that, but the product istelf adds all sorts of shimmer and shine to your hair.  It's not greasy, heavy, or slick.  It won't weigh your hair down, ruin your style, or make your hair look wet.  It truely looks like you took a can of shellac to your hair and added all sorts of shine. I tried to capture this in the pictures below, but seeing as my hair is "blonde" (I use that term loosely), it's hard to see, but I think you get the picture.  Really, all I can say is go spend the $2.97 or whatever it is at your local store and give it a try!   A few spritzes and your hair looks shiney and it lasts all day!

As for the hairspray, I'm always on the lookout for an affordable hairspray that works!  I don't like *wet* sprays, and honestly one of the best hair sprays I've ever found is the Kenra Volume Spray 25, but it runs around $25 for a bottle (and the large bottle size has been discontinued), so buying that every couple of months just isn't in the budget anymore.  I ended up grabbing a bottle of the Suave Professionals Touchable Finish in Extra Hold Aerosol Spray.   I tend to only buy the aeorsols - probably because of the "wet" vs. "dry" touch of a spritz vs. aerosol. 

Are you ready for a vacation?  I know I am!  Between tons of snow, and then tons of rain, I could really use a little sunshine in my life right about now!  Well, Laura Geller has come to the rescue.  A few months back (I think in December), she had a TSV on QVC, called "Escape to the Tropics".  This set contained all new colors (except for the foundation), all of which are absolutely gorgeous.  The packaging is too! 

The collection comes with a foundation Balance 'n Brighten (I picked Fair), a Blush 'n Brighten in Tropic Hues, a Dream Creams Lip Color pallet in Tropical Hues, a Baked Eye Dreams eyeshadow set in Sunset Horizon, I-care eyeliner in Purple Paradise, a retractable lip brush and a double ended eyeshadow brush. 

Like I said earlier, the packaging is absolutely stunning on this.  It's an embossed gold packaging that looks so elegant!  I'm not sure the picture does it justice, but you get the gist of the packaging in the pictures below.

First up, Balance 'n Brighten in Fair.  This was the lightest shade available until now - they just released a Porcelain, which I ordered in her most recent TSV: Vanilla Nudes, which should be arriving any day now.  Fair has swirls fair, bronze and golden correcting pigments.  This is a baked foundation, but once applied ends up some creamy on the skin.  It isn't cakey in the least - my only complaint is this shade will only work for me in the summer, so I am keeping my fingers crossed for the new Porcelain shade.

The Blush 'n Brighten in Tropical Hues is G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!  I'm a bit biased towards her blushes, though.  There isn't one I don't like - they all blend so beautifully together to create a beautiful flush on the cheeks.  This particular shade swirls apricot, pink and gold (mine is mostly pink, but you can see the other shades in the first picture).  Don't get scared, though - you won't look like a Barbie doll in this color - the golds and apricots blend together to create a perfect warm/pink on the skin.  It reminds me of a pinkier version of Apricot Berry. 

Let me just say, I know a lot of you out there love the MAC MSF blushes...well if you do, you NEED to try out Laura Geller's.  These are even more beautiful, blend effortlessly, and come in two types (Sugared = shimmery and Sugar Free = matte).  What's better than that?  It's the best of both worlds!

The Baked Eye Dreams are a bit of a different presentation for Laura Geller.  Typically she creates the baked shadows, reminiscent of the MAC MSF eyeshadows, but this time around she took a play out of her Dream Cream lip colors and created a similar eyeshadow pallet.  This set contains four colors, all which coordinately beautifully together.  To the far left is an ivory with hints of gold and peach.  Next is a beautiful golden mauve, followed by a bright true gold shade, and last a deep plum/bronze to the right. 

The texture on all of these is quite creamy.  I find they are very well pigmented on their own, but I do like to use a primer with them, as I do with any of my eyeshadows. 

The Dream Creams lip colors I expected the least out of, and turned out liking the most out of the entire set.  Upon first impression, these looked like minimally pigmented glosses, but that couldn't be further from the truth.  Not only are each very pigmented, and rich, but the staying power and moisturization was wonderful on each shade.  The golden shimmer to the far left is beautiful on it's own, but manages to transform each color to the right when applied on top.  If you purchase one item out of this set, I would have to suggest this pallet!

The Purple Paradise I-Care eyeliner is a beautiful rich plum shade.  As with the other I-Care pencils, this is waterproof and can be worn on the waterline. 

The swatches from the entire collection are above.  I really love this set - it's warm but bright at the same time.  Amazingly, I think these colors would look beautiful on anyone.  As I mentioned above, I absolutely adore the Dream Creams lip colors - they are just gorgeous!

The price on QVC right now is $54.12 for the entire collection.

Did you pick up this set?  What did you think? 

Back in December I posted a snapshot of some new displays at CVS for Milani, Almay and Maybelline.  Well, I'm a sucker for baked eyeshadows, so I couldn't pass this display buy without grabbing one (or two) of the Milani colors.  I got Famous Duo and Mingling to try out. 

Mingling is a swirl of ivory, turquoise and hints of lavender and pink.  There is iridescent microglitter swirled throughout.  I immediately thought of my Laura Geller Baked eyeshadow duos when I saw this color.  It is very different from any of the other blues I have on hand, so this was an obvious buy.

Famous Duo has black, charcoal, and brick red swirled throughout.  This has what appears to be a deep silver microglitter.  When swirled together, it gives a really warm charcoal color. 

I have swatched these below - keep in mind these are wet/dry shadows, but I would highly recommend either using a primer or applying these wet in order to get the full effect.  If you do them dry, the pigmentation is minimal, and the shimmer falls out.  With a primer or wet the colors are just plain gorgeous.  The deeper shades would be beautiful as liners as well. 

The Baked Marbleized Eyeshadows retail from $6-7.99 depending on location.  Have you tried them?  What's your favorite color?

The snapshot below is probably the most accurate in terms of color and shimmer...

The texture and consistency is a bit chunky on this.  As you can see in the picture below, it doesn't go on very evenly.  I  think I used the brush that came with it, so that could be part of the problem.  The $0.01 brush doesn't exactly pick up and apply product as well as some of mine!  I think if I can get it to apply a little smoother and more evenly, this will be used as a highlight to my cheeks.  Now, on to find the right brush...