Have been loving this lip recently! It’s at once very polished, very natural, and very, very easy. What do you think? I know, it looks like a whole lot of nothing — but my natural lip colour is (unfortunately) not nearly this lovely.
Products in this post…
Do you have a go-to natural-pink lip colour? Do share!
Clinique: free shipping on all orders (no code needed), plus two free samples with purchases $35+ with the code CYBERFB.
e.l.f.: all cosmetics buy one get one 1/2 off, plus free shipping on orders over $30. Code BCGBOGO50.
Jacob (I know, I know, it’s not makeup… but it’s SO EXCITING) has 40% off the last ticketed price for the entire store. Seriously. The whole damn store.
mark.: spend $40 and get both free shipping and 4 free gifts (hmm, indiscriminate gifts…) with the code MARKBF.
philosophy.com: up to 50% off, plus free shipping with HOLIDAYSHIP.
QVC: no word on what the sale items will be yet, but there’ll be a sale. ‘S all I can tell you, folks!
Space NK: free shipping with orders $30+ with THANKS30, and a goodie bag full of deluxe samples and a full size Jemma Kidd gloss with orders over $150. This ad says it much better than I would, so…
Stila: 20% off with STILALOVES, Cyber Monday sale with up to 80% off (Monday only!)
The Body Shop: 3 for $30, both in Canada and the US! Americans also get free shipping with purchases $30+.
Well.ca: free shipping in Canada as usual, plus get a $10 coupon for a future purchase if you spend $75+ (or a $20 one if you spend $125+)
P.S. Don’t forget to enter our flat iron giveaway, which ends on Tuesday! ;)
The collection is now available online! It’s times like this that my no-buy just kills me: the packaging on these items is seriously, seriously gorgeous.
(Especially the lipsticks! Oh god, the tubes! It’s a really good thing that none of the shades themselves particularly peak my interest, because then I’d be headed down the rabbit hole…)
What it is: Clinique Strawberry Fudge Holiday Compact
The blusher: This compact features a Soft-Pressed Powder Blusher in New Clover, a subtle neutral-warm shade. The pigmentation is very versatile (it can be worn quite sheerly, or layered for a lot of intensity) and, while it is indeed “soft,” it’s not so soft that it’s crumbly and dusty.
(Yes, I know it’s ridiculous that I was worried about that. Shh!)
Sunlight. First two swatches on the left are both New Clover, first heavily and then lightly.
The shadows: I’ve raved about these already, but I’m more than happy to do it again! I’m a total sucker for a pink shadow with gold shimmer, so of course this hits the spot for me. Clinique actually did a great job coordinating these shades; they can definitely be worn day or night: more of the pink during the day; more of the dark brown at night. Plus, because they’re all neutral with a bit of a “lean” (the light brown to warm tones, the dark brown to cool tones) I think that most light and medium skintones should be able to pull this off without any worries at all.
Flash in indirect sunlight. First two swatches on the left are both New Clover, first heavily and then lightly.
… because Marcelle’s Winter Trend collection just took me by surprise. I mean, yah, I thought it would be nice after reading Isabel’s post on it (here) — but not nearly this nice.
I promise to get on reviews and swatches ASAP; I was hoping to have them all done today but only had a few moments of sun left after bringing in the mail. You know, it’s a funny thing: yesterday I was daydreaming about thinking blissfully about stoically contemplating fall lipsticks, and how I’m sorely lacking them… and today, two perfect fall shades arrive. (The Rimmel I’ve been loving is gorgeous, but like a certain brand of chips, you can’t just have one.)
I guess it was meant to be!
To complete our insomnia coverage, I wanted to bring you ladies two more EOTDs. A few of our you asked for wearable looks using the Disturbia and Insomnia quads, and I felt obliged to comply!
I promise; this is the last insomnia post… I feel like we’ve been posting about it forever; the collection itself felt so large! Not, like, MAC VV large, but still: large for the drugstore. And I guess it was; Annabelle collections usually feature just four Mono eyeshadows, rather than three quads for a total of twelve domed shadows, two liners, a lipstick, and a new cheek product. But hey, I’m not complaining!
What it is: Annabelle Rouge Velours lipstick in Hypnotic, from the insomnia collection.
The shade: Hypnotic is a very sheer, pearly medium-nude. Now, before you freak out — it’s not “porn star nude,” nor is it “washed-out nude”. What I mean by the use of that word is just that it tones down the red in my lips, but as it’s sheer and not too pale, I never end up looking washed-out or, um, inappropriate (even when the rest of my face is bare). For those of you with un-pigmented lips this would obviously add colour, but it takes a bit of the red from my lips. I also wanted to point out that it’s very much a pearl, not a frost, even if you overapply!
The wear: I’ve found that Annabelle lipsticks all wear a little differently, even if they’re from the same line. While I’ve never run into a Rouge Velours that I actually disliked, this one feels particularly great — very moisturizing, like I’m wearing a really lovely lip balm. The colour never moves to the edges and dry patches of my lips (even though it feels exceptionally smooth), nor does the shimmer travel outside of my lip line.
The verdict? You know how I keep saying “but if you buy only one item from the insomina collection, I wouldn’t recommend it be this one”? Well, this lipstick is the reason why — if you are only going to pick up one insomnia item, it totally needs to be this one.
I was pleasantly surprised with a few looks at this year’s AMAs — enough so that I felt like sharing my thoughts! So, I hope you feel like sharing yours in the comments, too ;)
To start us off is Whitney Port. I’m usually very much NOT a fan of anyone or anything even mildly related to The Hills, but she looks amazing here! (Plus, I completely heart her dress.)
Next up is Taylor Swift. I wasn’t a huge fan of straight hair on her the first time she did it, but I’m really liking this, too! The honeyed locks really make the look, if you ask me — the platinum hilights she was rocking before looked fabulous with her naturally curly locks, but washed her out when they were straight. Not huge on the dress, but ehhh, you win some; you lose some.
May I just point out how awesomely happy Rihanna looks here? Her bright red curls are REALLY “wow”, and I’m loving it.
Does anyone know how old Sheryl Crow is now? Because she still looks totally awesome. I would have liked to see a bit more definition (bouncier hair, fuller brows, maybe a tone darker on the lips) but even as-is she looks great.
Here’s a not-so-secret secret: I have a huge girlcrush on Castle’s Stana Katic. She always looks so impeccable and lovely! I kind of miss her shorter hair, though — it was très chic, non?
Finally, two ladies that really just need to grow up: Ke$ha and Avril. Avril, honey, you’re not sixteen anymore, and we’d love it if you glammed up your look a bit. And Ke$ha… a dollar sign is not a letter. Also, P.S. you look terrible. I do love avante-garde makeup, and I can usually appreciate pushing the boundaries of makeup, but that’s just… not even… it’s just… you’re hurting my eyes, okay? Stop it stop it stop it!
Did you see any makeup at the AMAs that really rocked your socks off? Or (ahhhh!) anything that made you want to hide under a table?
photos credit: celebuzz and bellasugar
20% off Bare Escentuals Get Started Kits at Sephora, no code needed. Perfect if you want to try out the brand, or if you were thinking of getting one for a friend this Christmas! Valid through to the 30th in both US and Canada. {Sephora}
Two deluxe-sized samples FREE at Urban Decay with purchases $65+. Use the code HFS65. {Urban Decay}
e.l.f. minerals are 50% off if you spend $20 or more, with the code BCGM50. {e.l.f.}
Free shipping at glow.com! {glow}
Stila’s wearhouse sale doesn’t open until Friday, but they do have up to 40% off a bunch of stuff in their clearance section at the moment ;) {Stila}
Free silver tote bag (that’s actually pretty cute, to be honest) with any purchase over $49.50 at Clinique. Use the code TOTE. {Clinique}
And of course, the steals (oh my gahd RAINBOW EYELASHES) :
I’ve been completely in love with these recently, and totally want one to call my own. (Likelihood: 0/10) What do you ladies think of them?
