Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Palette Review

A week ago, I picked up from Sephora the new Tartelette Amazonian clay matte palette by Tarte. After playing with it a few times I decided to do a review.

“Real women” inspired this palette and the names of the eyeshadows connect to that idea.  It features 12 exclusive eyeshadows color never released before that run from worn to cold colors.

Let me start with the packaging, GORGEOUS. It is a hard plastic palette, which I prefer over those cardboard ones. I love the combination of gold mirror look and purple. It also has a big mirror inside and it is really thin, good for travelling or caring around. Another important point is that the names of the eyeshadows are written down in the package so you won’t have to keep the clear sheet (another plus for me).

The eyeshadows are 1.5 grams each which it really good size in my opinion.  The colors are well distributed and give you a lot of inspiration; in the first road you can find the highlight and lighter shades, then in the center the transition shades and at the end some deeper definer shades. Also, they swatch and blend amazingly, good pigmentation and it is not a lot of fall out (I will say any).

 As well, this palette comes with a small guide card that explains how to achieve daytime and a play time (night) look. I tried the first look and it turned out really well, I even got compliments from my lawyer that day (lol).

Here you have the swatches!

Free Spirit

Caregiver

Super Mom

I had to swatch this on my fingers due to how light they are.

Force of Nature

Natural Beauty

Wanderer

Dreamer

Best Friend

Power Player

Multi-tasker

Bombshell

Fashionista

In my opinion, Tartelette is an incredible matte palette. It has everything that you need to achieve any look. I will totally recommend it. At the moment, it is only available at the Sephora website but soon it will be available in other retailers.

Which one is your favorite matte palette?

Merry Christmas – Happy Holidays!

XOXO,

Sandra G.

Gift guide! Under $30

Hello guys! Sorry I haven’t been posting lately. I had my final exams and projects this past month; and I am happy to announce that I have graduated (Wiiiiiii!!!). I am so excited that I finished my degree and now the hardest part comes, finding a job.

Although, I had been busy studying and preparing for final and I did a lot of shopping especially on the Sephora website and store. For that, I have decided to do a blogpost on the products I have picked up and maybe give you some ideas for some Christmas gifts.

All this products are under $30 and I believe most of them are still available on Sephora.com and Store.

The first kit that I picked up was the Tarte Sweet Dreams Deluxe Best sellers’ collection. This one comes with my favorite face Maracuja oil, a C-brighter eye cream and a cream blush in pinky nude. Packaged in a giftable box inspired in the Holiday Collection that makes the perfect gift for yourself or a friend. This kit is only $23.  It is available at Sephora website and store.

From Benefit, I purchased the Sweet Tintations. This set comes with a Benebalm and a Lollibalm (full size); and benetint and lollitint (deluxe sample size). This is a great gift for anyone that is getting into makeup. You can give both or divided into two gifts. I picked up it from Shoppers Drug Mart and it is only $30.  There is a similar set at Sephora for $50 that comes also with Posiebalm and Posietint.

Also, from Tarte I picked up the mini blush in Mirage and cheek stain in fantasy set. These are items inspire in the Holiday Collection. This box is really cute and small, perfect for stocking. Unfortunately, this item is not available anymore in the Sephora website but maybe you can find it at any store. This kit was only $12.

Them I made big and expensive decision and I got the limited edition nail polish from Marc Jacobs in the color Midnight in Paris. The color is blue but after I applied it looks almost black. I love the formula; it is really creamy and easy to apply. This nail polish is exclusive to Sephora and it costs $30. The packaging is beautiful. This will made a perfect gift for any nail polish addict.

As well, I got the Sephora Favorites Give Me Some Lip. Sephora Favorites have been amazing this year! This set comes with one full size Smashbox Be Legendary Gloss in Pout, and other 5 deluxe samples: Urban Decay Mini Naked Revolution Lipstick, Nars Deluxe Orgasm Lip Gloss, Buxom Mini Full On Lip Cream in White Russian, Marc Jacobs Mini Lust for Lacquer in Kissability and last but not least, Deluxe Bite High Pigment Lip Pencil in Meritage. I have used all of them and I LOVE EVERY SINGLE COLOR!! This is only $30 and it’s out stock in the website. However, I have seen a lot of them in the Sephora near me (Eaton Center and Yorkville).

From the Shopping Channel, I picked up the Let it Glow set by Pur Minerals. It comes with a cream blush in Sugar & Spice, a cream bronzer in Naughty and Nice and a cream highlighter in Glisten & Glow. The sizes are perfect for travelling and their formula is super pigmented.  I have used the blush and highlighter and I LOVE THEM! The bronzer I am not sure yet; I have to give it another tried. This set is only $25 and it makes the perfect gift for any beauty lover.

The last Holiday kit I picked up was the Too Faced Bronzer Wardrobe. It comes with four deluxe-size samples that go from shimmer to matte bronzers. Chocolate Soleil is perfect for everyday contouring, while Milk Chocolate Soleil is better for all-over warmth. Then Sun Bunny leaves the skin looking radiant, and the Endless Summer 16-Hour Long-Wear Bronzer provides a long lasting and all over, bronzed glow. It comes, as well, with Teddy Bear Hair Flatbuki Brush, which is one of the softest brushes I have ever used. This set is perfect for a holiday’s gift and it cost only $28. It is available at the Sephora website and stores.

I hope you enjoyed this mini review/gift guide! Let me know which one is your favorite!

Sandra G.

Week in outfits

I am not only love beauty but also, fashion! So here you have my week in outfits.

It has been quite cold here in Toronto so it has been the perfect opportunity to wear all coats.

I hope you find this post inspiring.

Coat: Club Monaco 

Scarf: American Apparel 

Jeans: Ann Taylor 

Shoes: JustFab 

Location: St James Church

Coat: H&M

Sweater dress: H&M 

Scarf: American Apparel 

Coat: Roots Canada 

Overral: Forever 21 

Bag: Argentinian Store 

Shirt: Massimo Dutti 

Jacket: Massimo Dutti

Scarf: American Apparel 

Pants: Massimo Dutti 

Animal print shoes: Massimo Dutti 

Shirt: Massimo Dutti

Coat: H&M

Sweater: Forever 21 

Jeans: Ann Taylor 

Shoes: JustFab 

Scarf: American Apparel

Coat: Massimo Dutti 

Jean shirt: Zara 

Jeans Ann Taylor 

Trainers: New Balance 

Polka dot socks: Forever 21 

Tell me which one was your favourite! 

Have a good week! 

Sandra 

Finding the perfect mascara

I cannot live without mascara, if I have to choose just one item to wear my entire life it will be mascara! My face completely changes every time I curl my eyelashes and put some coats of black mascara.

For the past year, I have been in the hunt for my Holy Grail product; the ONE that I could not live without. Unfortunately until now, I have not be able to find. I have try millions, from drugstore to high end/really expensive ones and nothing that makes me completely satisfied.

Let me tell you a little bit about my eyelashes; I am lucky enough to have really really long eyelashes but the are facing down and it is really hard to curl them. I have had done eyelash perm (crazy, I know ) and it worked well, however, that is really expensive and I have to get it done at least every two month. Plus the smell stayed in my eyelashes for almost a week and I hated it. On one hand, it was worth it because my eyes looked so defined and perfect, on the other, it is too expensive.

After doing perm for a while I decided to stop and I started looking for a good mascara. I started with drugstore mascara such as L'Oreal's Butterfly, Maybelline Great Lash and Falsies and none of them worked for me. Then, I moved up to high end mascaras. I purchases a kit from Sephora at the beginning of the year (2014) and I started using them one by one.

There are some of the ones that I have tried and some that still have to open and see how they work.

So far I have loved:

• Bad Gal by Benefit: it made my eyelashes look fuller and it helped hold the curl. 
• Clinique High Impact Lashes: this one also defined my eyelashes fan out really nicely. 
• Mac Extended Play Lashes: this will also defined my eyelashes really well and it helped hold the curl. 
• Lancome Hypnose: amazing mascara, almost perfect but it is on the pricy side. 
• Tarte Light, Camera lashes: this is the one I am trying at the moment and I really love it. It's great for volume and curl.   

The ones I did not like: 

• Too faced better than sex mascara. I have read really good reviews about it but it did not work for me at all, and every time I used I ended up with mascara all over my eyes. 
• Blinc Mascara, I HATE this mascara so much, I used just one and throw it because the only time I used made my eyelashes look so bad. The brush is good but the formula is weird. I did not see any definition. However, I have read amazing reviews about it, but I did not work for me. 

Out of my collection I have not used the Make up forever mascara, Buxom and YSL. I try to use one at the time, finish it and move on to another one so that way I have a better opinion about each of them. As well, they won't go to waste. 

If you are looking for the perfect mascara as I am, I will recommend you to purchase a kit with many different mascaras or try deluxe samples instated of buying full size products. 

Also, try to find out what looks better on you; volume, define eyelashes, falsies, a big curl, and so on. 

After trying at least 10 different brands and types of mascara I realized that what I need it; defined eyelashes with an amazing and durable curl. I have found mascaras that do one or the other but not both. I know some people layer up three different types/brands of mascara but I feel that is a waste of money because there is probably one perfect mascara out there that could make you save a lots. 

Hope you find this tips helpful and please tell me your favourite mascara! Maybe I can try it next time!  

Which is your favourite mascara?  

Sandra

Peter Thomas Roth 21st Birthday Kit

Are you guys ready for the 20% off sale from Sephora? I AM!! My wish list is huge although, I have done a lot of shopping on October.

One of the items that I got last month was the Peter Thomas Roth 21^st Birthday Kit. It retails for $44 CAD ($38 USA) with a $109 total value. It comes with 5 products; one of them is full size, another travel size and the last three deluxe sample size.

As every Saturday night I invited my sister to come over and together we tried this kit. We have not tried any of these products before so I decided to do a mini review on each of them.

The kit is perfect for acne/oily skin due to most of the products contain Glycolic and Salicylic acid that helps to clarify and clean the skin.  As well, this kit is targeted to the ladies out there who are preventing the appearance of wrinkles or who already have visible wrinkles.

The products are:

1.     Anti-aging cleansing gel 250ml: helps effectively to detox pores, dissolve makeup and remove dead cells. Depending on your skin type you can use it everyday or three to two times a week. This cleanser cleaned my skin perfectly and it left it super soft and smooth. I really enjoyed this product and I feel it is perfect for oily to combination skin.

2.     Peeling gel 15ml: a gentle exfoliating treatment that visibly rolls, lifts and sweeps away dead skin cells. OMG this peeling is great! I saw all my dead skin coming out and my skin was visibly whiter. AMAZING!

3.     Laser Free Resurface face serum 7.5ml: this helps skin appear repaired, resurfaced, regenerated and renew skin. I did not find it really moisturizing and the red color put me off a little. I feel I need to give it another try.

4.     Max Sheer All Day Moisture Defense Lotion 30ml: ultra light anti-aging hydrator with moisturizer. It has an SPF 30. It smells and feel like sunscreen to me. This was a turn off.

5.     Instant Firm eye 7.4ml: eye treatment that tightens the look of the skin while firming and smoothing. To be honest, this is the best eye cream I have ever tried! And I have tried tons. Just from the first application my under eye area felt so smooth and soft, plus it absorbs really quickly. This product changes the way I feel about eye creams!

After using every single product my skin felt really clean and smooth, but because I have normal skin I had to wear my daily moisture on top of all those products; my skin was feeling kind of dry.

I really enjoyed trying the Peter Thomas Roth and I think the set is amazing! I like 4 out of the 5 products plus two of them are becoming my Holy Grail skin products (cleanser and eye cream) I totally recommend it for all the ladies out there looking for a wrinkle and acne treatment. This kit will make a perfect gift for the skin junkies in your family.

Which Peter Thomas Roth product do you want to try?

Sandra