Before my holiday hiatus, the folks at NYX Cosmetics sent over a box with a few goodies for me to test out in the new year. The first thing I had to try in the box was the Color Lip Balm. It’s winter and chapped lips seem to be an epidemic and for me this year my lips have been even drier than normal since I have Invisalign retainers. I’ve actually had Invisalign since June but only a few of you readers and even my friends have really noticed. I’m not getting rid of my gap completely, just putting it back to it’s normal gap glory (I love having a gap, just not one that’s so big it changes my speech pattern).

Back to the balm…

There are 12 colors in the collection and I received a lovely red shade (Obrigado), a coral (Thank You), a pink (Grazie) and a nude (Spasibo). I started by trying out the color shade to perk up my lips and to just try it out. The balm has a glossy texture and goes on very smoothly with just the right hint of color. It showed up nicely on my lips and for me sometimes I find the browner you are the less color that shows. What has surprised me as a favorite in the bunch is the glossy nude, it’s a perfect nude glossy color that pairs beautifully when I do a crazy wild eye look.

I’m always about eye makeup so I admit that I neglect my lips a lot, so having a tinted lip balm is actually perfect for me. I should also mention that these smell a bit like candy, not too sweet but I didn’t mind the scent at all. And for the price of $3.75 each, I would definitely pick up 2 or 3 of these and leave one at my desk at work, in my purse and in my car.

Has anyone tried any other great tinted lip balms out there? Share!

I retired the Friday’s Fabulousness post a while ago but decided this makeup item was so fabulous, I had to bring it back just for this post. I already told you once before that bareMinerals READY™ Eyeshadow Are AH-Mazing so now I’m telling you again and that today is the day the new limited edition 8 color palette is available.

I received The Cocktail Hour Palette for review and it is chocked full of the perfect colors needed for a sexy smokey eye. It’s also the holiday season and this will be staying in my purse so I can take my makeup from day to night. The colors in this palette are  Black Tie Optional (black velvet) + Icebreaker (pink pearl) + Swanky (plum) + Spiked (copper blush) + Elixir (lilac)  + Invite Only (taupe slate) + Libation (sugared cinnamon) + Shaken Not Stirred (jeweled navy – my favorite). The combinations are endless and again, the coverage and wear on these shadows is simply amazing. Seriously.

The second palette is The Playlist and it contains Pumped (cocoa sparkle) + Chart Topper (pewter silk) + Max Volume (smoky jade) + Louder (burnished copper) + One Hit Wonder (butter chiffon) + Most Requested (burgundy sparkle) + Remix (burnished gold) + Speaker Box (shimmering gunmetal). The colors in this palette are so gorgeous I think I need to swing by a Bare Escentuals boutique this weekend to pick up the second palette. How can I resist a gorgeous shade of green in this formula?

Definitely Friday’s Fabulousness worthy indeed.

I’ve got Gift Guide plans this weekend plus a birthday celebration for my sister so I’ve got a weekend full of good things. I’ll work on what the new posting schedule will be for the blog for the new month or so and let you guys know. Have a fantastic weekend everybody!

With the cooler weather comes dry skin and chapped lips, ugh. I’m always looking for great hand salves and really moisturizing lip products. On my lunch break the other day I saw a display for the new Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters. Of course Revlon hasn’t put anything up on their website about them yet (as a Webmaster, that irritates me to no end). They have shea butter in them, that much I know but they’re a very creamy new lipstick and they’re not super sheer. I picked up Red Velvet, a brick red looking color in the tube that goes on as a really great red flush on the lips – LOVE! I also picked up Gumdrop, a lavender shade. I love lavender lipstick, I use it as a neutral all the time.

I’m going to wear them for the next week or two to see how they feel and if they get sticky, etc. But has anyone else seen these at their local drugstore? Picked any up? What do you think about them? Share!

Sometimes I really like products that I review and then sometimes I really LOVE products that I get for review. Last month I told you about bareMinerals READY™ Eyeshadow and I promised once I sampled them I would share my thoughts. I didn’t want to share them with you until I knew you could purchase them on your own because they’re just that amazing. So amazing I’m already thinking about which sets I want to buy to add to my collection.

I was sent 3 sets to review, 2 duos and 1 quad.

The Promise includes Aspire and Vow. Aspire is a very pretty and subtly shimmering gold and Vow is a matte brown. They’re a great duo to balance the bright with an easier neutral. It makes a great smokey eye that’s not a harsh black.

The Vison includes Illusion and Mirage and it’s my favorite set and is what I’m wearing in the pics at the top of the post. Illusion is a soft light blue that’s very wearable and Mirage is a GORGEOUS shimmering blue that has a cool burgundy undertone. Mirage changes color every time I look at it and I love it more every time I put it on.

The Elements includes Air, Fire, Earth and Water. Air is a shimmering champagne, Fire is a very surprisingly wearable orange, Earth is a dove grey shade that I’ve also worn a lot and Water is a very gorgeous blue.

These shadows look like your typical pressed eyeshadows but they’re not. The texture is so unique. When I swipe my brush against them the feel almost like a soft cream. The pigment builds up beautifully and they last all day (I also wear all eyeshadow with a primer, so I’m sure that helps too). Hands down, these might be the best shadow compacts I’ve ever seen. They sell all of the duos and quads in a complete set for $420 and if I had that kind of cash to drop I would buy them all. You definitely need these in your makeup bag. You will not be disappointed.

As part of my 33 in 33 for 33 list I wrote that I wasn’t going to buy any makeup over the course of 33 days. Well, I failed. I blame Maybelline for my failure too.

I had to order the limited edition 40th anniversary tubes of Great Lash Mascara from Target.com (Target just redid their site and I cannot find them on the website but I have heard they’re in stores as well). They have 3 tubes designed by Tracy Reese, BCBG Max Azria and Vivienne Tam. And you all already know how I feel about Vivienne Tam, so i scooped up all three without even thinking about my no makeup ban. Oops!

And then when I ran into Walgreens the other evening I saw a display of limited edition Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Colors and Rockin’ Fuchsia was calling my name. I’ve been obsessed with bright pink lipsticks, so I HAD to buy this one!

Although in the picture it looks a bit more on the plum side, it’s a very cool deep fuchsia that I’ve been wearing nonstop. The display had a few other awesome colors, but I limited myself to the one since I already knew I was failing at one of my 33 items. But I will say, if you’re a fan of full lipstick, which is the big trend for this year, you should definitely check out Color Sensational lipsticks. They feel amazing on and the color pay off is fantastic.

It was all totally worth breaking my 33 in 33 for 33 list. Have you bought anything good lately?