IT Cosmetics CC+ Radiance Palette and Heavenly Luxe Wand Ball Brush

IT Cosmetics' CC+ Radiance Palette ($38; itcosmetics.com) is a 3 in 1, travel friendly palette that features three face products for a healthy glow and some subtle warmth. There's a matte peachy pink blush that would be a flattering color on most skin tones, a color correcting powder and a matte bronzer. The Heavenly Luxe Wand Ball Brush ($48; itcosmetics.com) and the CC+ Radiance Palette make for a great face duo.

The textures in the CC+ Radiance Palette are quite smooth, silky with little to no fallout. The blush is my favorite of the three - you just can't go wrong with a matte blush and this one seems pretty pigmented as well, so a light dusting is all you need. The color correcting powder adds a bit of glow and warmth to my complexion. It doesn't have much coverage, but is good instead of a finishing powder. The bronzer is not the most flattering on my skintone though, but I like that its matte with no trace of shimmer. The palette does have a magnetic closure and a generously sized mirror, so it really is travel friendly and quite lightweight to carry around!

I used the Wand Ball Brush from the Heavenly Luxe Brush line with this palette, since I was testing both these the same time. It is a super soft, very well made, synthetic brush that does a fabulous job with pressed and loose powder products. Its quite dense, but not so much as a buffing brush, so perfect for all over powder or a light application of blush. The bristles are extremely soft, feel fabulous against the skin and the brush washes really well and dries quite fast. Overall, amazing brush, a tad pricey, but I do think the quality is great and with proper care would hold up very well!

*Press Samples

Elizabeth Arden Untold Absolu Eau de Parfum

Elizabeth Arden Untold Absolu ($69 - $89; elizabetharden.com), a new launch this fall is a richer, sweeter, and a more sophisticated take on the Untold Eau de Parfum, that launched last year. Untold Absolu has notes of Brazilian Tonka Absolute, Cashmere Woods, Tahitian Vanilla Bourbon Absolute, Benzoin, Rose Water, French Narcissus, Italian Bergamot, Red Plum and Ginger, to name a few, which make it a creamy, cozy, comforting fall winter scent that is perfect this time of the year.


The packaging of Untold Absolu is very similar to Untold. Absolu has a gold lined, darker bottle, but the same gorgeous crystallized bottle and cap. Absolu is a beautiful, feminine and elegant fragrance that opens up with notes of Red Plum, Rose and Egyptian Jasmine, leaning very slightly fruity floral. The floral notes don't linger for the longest, the dry down is more of a warm, sweet and comforting mix of vanilla and amber. The wear time is excellent  - its a tad strong, but lasts all day long.  It is more of a grown up scent though, with just the right amount of sweetness to the mix without being overly cloying. Overall, absolutely worth checking out if you are on the lookout for a transitional scent or something you could wear quite a lot come colder weather or cooler fall evenings. One of my top picks for a fall/winter scent and if you already like UNTOLD, you'll absolutely love UNTOLD Absolu!


* Press Sample

L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara

L'Oreal's new Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara ($7; ulta.com) is a volumizing, lengthening mascara that promises over-sized, over-the-top lash volume. The wand is rather flexible and works really well when getting onto the corner lashes and the teeny tiny ones that won't quite cling onto mascara. The mascara is jet black and the formula is supposed to be on the wet side, but my tube was rather dry and flaky. *Press Sample


I have very short, stubby lashes that need an eye lash curler before any sort of mascara. I found that Miss Manga does a good job of lengthening and a decent job separating, but it wasn't very voluminous and did not hold the curl very well. My lashes felt droopy in an hour's time and the overall effect was straight, spiked lashes, which is not something I was going for.  Although a bit flaky at first, it doesn't smudge much through the day and the wand is quite easy to work with once you get the hang of it - it feels a tad wiggly at the beginning. If you are looking for a mascara that would separate, lengthen, but also make lashes stick straight without any curl, you might like it, but if you are looking for a bit of a natural looking curl or volume, you may be quite dissapointed.

L'Occitane Bonne Mere Shower Gels | Honey, Rosemary & Peach

The Bonne Mere Shower Gels ($14; loccitaneusa.com) are among many fabulous bodycare launches that were released as part of L'occitane's fall lineup, earlier this month. The shower gels come in five scents of Olive, Peach, Rosemary, Lemon and Honey!

I tried out Honey (au Miel), Rosemary (au Romarin) and Peach (a la Peche), all of which I absolutely love. The shower gels smell very real, light and true to the description. Honey is a warm, sweet scent, which I found to be the strongest of the three, Rosemary is crisp and earthy, while Peach is juicy and fresh. The packaging is quite practical and the shower gels stack one on top of the other. They are sulfate-based cleansers and do the job effectively without leaving a slippery residue behind. While the scents don't linger around for the longest, I find them perfect for a shower gel and non intrusive with my perfume. Overall, they are really lovely, very gentle on the skin and the scents are something you just can't go wrong with!

Have you checked out L'Occitane's Bonne Mere Shower Gels yet?

*Press Samples

Kerastase Discipline Haircare Collection

The Discipline collection by Kerastase, is a new haircare range that targets frizziness, adding a lot of movement and smoothness back to hair. The line features two shampoos, one sulfate based and the other sulfate-free, which is great for colored hair too, a lightweight conditioner, a rich textured hair mask and an anti-frizz protection spray. The folks at Kerastase sent me the range to try out, which I've been using for the past month or so, so here are my quick thoughts. *Press Samples

Bain Fluidealiste & Bain Fluidealiste Sulfate-Free ($39 each; kerastase-usa.com) - Two concentrated, moisturizing shampoos targeted at normal to thick hair that controls frizz and leaves hair super manageable. Both shampoos have a beautiful rich texture that cleanses and washes off easily. The sulfate-free version is a tad more moisturizing and doesn't even need a conditioner to follow up with, in my opinion. The sulfate-based option is nice too, but leaves hair just a tad tangled, so I would recommend a conditioner afterwards. My hair falls between the fine and normal category, and can get crazy frizzy with humidity and I like them both, but when I don't want to go through the extra step of conditioning, I would reach for the sulfate-free version. Both shampoos don't leave much of a residue overtime, but I would still recommend a good clarifying shampoo once a week.

Bain Fluidealiste Sulfate-Free Ingredients

Fondant Fluidealiste ($42; kerastase-usa.com) is a lightweight conditioner that is a great follow up to the Shampoo.It doesn't have much of a slip initially, but manages to leave hair feeling soft and silky. Going by how moisturizing the shampoos themselves are, the conditioner can be skipped most times, but if your hair is super thick and easily tangles, its a good one to try.

Maskeratine ($62.50; kerastase-usa.com), is a rich creamy mask, a very concentrated one that is amazing at keeping hair feeling super soft, bouncy and gorgeously shiny. A little goes a long way with this one - its got a lot of slip, manages to leave hair feeling smooth within seconds and washes off residue-free.

Spray Fluidissime ($42; kerastase-usa.com) is a primer and anti-frizz protection spray that is to be used as the final step, before blow-drying or air-drying. Its quite a watery, light textured spray that controls frizz to an extent. It doesn't weigh hair down, but I prefer using it in conjunction with a blow dryer for a smooth finish. If you have very thick hair though, you might end up using more than usual.

All products in the Discipline line smell incredible, yet strong. Its sort of a heady floral scent that reminds me of Cartier's Baiser Vole Fragrance. Its a nice range for frizz control, no matter what your hair type is. My hair isn't too thick, yet the products work for me without weighing down my hair too much. My favorites from the range are the Sulfate-free shampoo, Mask and the Spray Fluidssime. The packaging, just like everything else from Kerastase is beautiful as well!

Have you tried anything from the Kerastase Discipline Haircare range? 

Laura Mercier Verbena Infusion Gel Body Scrub

Laura Mercier's Verbena Infusion range recently added a couple of new products, the Gel Body Scrub ($40; lauramercier.com) being one of the most luxurious products that layers well with the Eau de Toilette. Verbena Infusion is a zesty mix of Verbena, Spearmint, Amber and Plum, a very summery scent, but perfect for a lazy morning just about any time of the year.

The gel body scrub has a unique texture, almost quite a thick gel base in which the scrubby particles are blended into. It feels amazing against the skin - there is the right amount of grittiness, not too scratchy, yet exfoliates and softens quite well and there's a slight cooling sensation after washing off. I just buff some onto damp skin, leave it on for a few seconds and wash it off. It is quite easy to wash off, there's no film or greasy residue left behind, but it doesn't feel super drying either. A light lotion afterwards should keep skin feeling soft, longer. The scent although quite strong, is really amazing, very refreshing and lingers on for a few hours. Overall, a tad on the pricier side, but quite a luxurious body scrub that would make for a great once a week treat. The Verbena Infusion range also has a gel body cream, dry oil and an EDT!

What are your thoughts on the Laura Mercier Verbena Infusion bath & body care?

*Press Sample

Products That Did Not Work For Me - Part 6

Its been a while since I did a products that did not work for me round up. I always think I should do these more often, but end up tossing the products since they are crap anyways or promptly forget. I shall be a bit more regular with this series from now on! I've purged most of these products or given them away, so only stock photos for now.  *All images courtesy sephora.com, burberry.com *Some products featured are press samples.

Too Faced Lip Injection Color Bomb! Moisture Plumping Lip Tint ($21; ulta.com) - I'm not a fan of lip plumpers that tingle too much and this one was no exception. But this, along with the next product I'm going to talk about are probably the worst among the lip plumpers I've tried. It stung my lips and my upper lip area so much, I had to stay away from lip products for a couple of days. I was sent the color Eastwood Red, which is quite an unflattering red for my skintone, but I could have overlooked that if the formula was decent.

Soap & Glory Super-Colour Sexy Mother Pucker™ Lip Plumping Gloss ($18; sephora.com) - Another uncomfortable lip plumper with hardly any moisture content. I see these are raved about on the Sephora site, and I don't understand why. I was sent the color Half Naked which apparently is a buttered pop corn flavour.. more like candy gone bad, but that's not the worst part of the product. Overall, its very mediocre and definitely not worth the rave at all.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir ($18; sephora.com) - I just updated my Caudalie post last night with a short note about how this product works on me now. In short, if you have sensitive, acne prone or problematic skin, stay away! I have dry/sensitive skin that leans combo in the summer and this breaks me out no matter what season I try. The scent is awesome though. I've tried many gentle products from Caudalie and this is definitely not one of them.

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette ($49; sephora.com) - When I first tried this, I felt the shimmery shades needed a bit more oomph and a little more of a smoother texture. I thought that was the bad part and that the palette would be perfect otherwise, but no! As I worked my way through this  beautiful looking neutral palette, I realized that the colors are getting harder and harder to pick up with a clean brush. The top layer sort of gets dry, so the mattes don't show up and the glitter in some of them fly all over the place. Too bad since the colors are all beautiful. Now if only some other brand would recreate the same colors in a better formula!

Fresh Sugar Shine Lip Treatment ($18.50; sephora.com) - I got this as part of a sephora perk a while back, in a set of three products from Fresh. It has a nice scent/flavor, but the product itself doesn't do anything. There's not much shine to the 'lip shine' and it doesn't moisturize at all. I din't like the way it sat on my lips too - left some sort of a film and wore off within an hour or so.

Burberry Fresh Glow Blush in Orange Poppy ($38; burberry.com) -  I love Burberry, they are among my favorite beauty brands which is why I buy so many products sight unseen. While the product itself was meh, the packaging is even worse. The blush popped right off the tube and squished right on the floor. $38 down the drain right there! The color is super sheer, doesn't show up at all and won't blend. Most disappointing buy, since I had high hopes from Burberry. Their powder blushes are fabulous, but this one on the other hand, needs some serious re-formulation.

What are some of your recent disappointing beauty products? 

Makeup Look : Bronzy Plum on the Eyes, Berry Pink Lips

An easy, everyday face using some of my favorite eye shadows for autumn. I kept my face quite minimal with just some light foundation and a nude blush. Used some must-have bronzes paired with a gorgeous, muted plummy purple from Burberry for the eyes. I kept the eyes quite simple with just a pop of bronze, but you could turn up the intensity a bit more if you want something more richer and deeper!

For the face, I used Burberry's Fresh Glow Fluid in Nude Radiance over moisturizer and Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide in Suntan. Applied the same foundation under the eyes too. Used Bobbi Brown's Corrector in Peach to neutralize my under eye area and used Clinique Airbrush Concealer in Medium over it. Skipped using powder and used Laura Mercier's Creme Cheek Color in Praline on the cheeks.

For my eyes, I primed with Urban Decay's Anti-Aging  Primer Potion on the lids. I then went over with a sheer wash of Laura Mericer's Caviar Stick Eye Color in Burnizhed Bronze and topped it off with MAC's Antiqued Eyeshadow. These two make for a fabulous copper/bronze eye that is just so wearable and beautiful. I used a little bit of Burberry's Mulberry Eye Shadow on the crease and the outer corner. Mulberry is another favorite of mine - its a beautiful plum with hints of brown and a perfect color for fall. The formula is amazing and the texture is so smooth and silky. Completed the look with some eyeliner on the lash and waterlines, I used Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero, curled my lashes with Dior's Backstage Curler and used a couple of coats of Dior's It-Lash Mascara in It-Black. I also filled in some sparse areas of my brows with the Elizabeth Arden Brow Pencil in Natural Black.

For the Lips, I used NARS Damage, a perfect berry pink! Its quite a sheer color, but looks beautiful on any skintone.

NARCISO by Narciso Rodriguez Eau de Parfum

Narciso Rodriguez' newest fragrance, Narciso ($112 for 3.0oz; bloomingdales.com), is new for fall and comes as an Eau de Parfum, a Scented Body Lotion and Musc Oil Parfum.  Narciso is a beautiful, elegant composition, with notes of White Musk, Vetiver, Gardenia and Bulgarian Rose. The classy white bottle is a rather simple design, that is as sophisticated as the scent itself. The cap is quite heavy, but lends the bottle a clean, chic design that you just can't go wrong with.

Narciso opens up with slightly strong, heady notes of gardenia, with a touch of softness from the rose. I can definitely get the vetiver and the rose all through, although the dry down is definitely musky for the most part. Its definitely more suited for cooler fall/winter evenings and is somewhat of a grown up scent, in a very clean and sophisticated way. It is quite a strong scent though and lasted the whole day on me - just a spritz or two was enough to last through the day, without any sort of layering. Overall, quite a unique woody floral in a gorgeous bottle and something I'm reserving for when the weather cools down a little more.

What are your thoughts on NARCISO by Narciso Rodriguez?

* Press Sample