November 2010 Favorites & Not-So-Favorites

Hello, Beautiful!

I can't believe November is nearly over and I haven't made a November Favorites post yet! This month has flown by in the blink of an eye, and I don't see December being any less crazy. I'd like to pretend that I have a ton of time to do swatches right now, but I just don't. Please forgive me if this post references past posts too much or is without new photos.

Before I get started, I want to quickly mention two important things:

#1: Today is the last day of the Cyber Monday sale at ValentineKisses.com. Hundreds of items are marked down at super low prices that will expire at midnight tonight!! You can also earn up to 16 FREE items with your order. Visit the website for full details. Shop www.valentinekisses.com before the sale is over!

and

#2: The Ears To You fundraiser is almost over (ends tomorrow). Use the code EARSTOYOU to save 10% off your order (no minimum purchase required) and help support this great cause. I'm sure we'll host another Ears To You fundraiser in the future, but we don't know when. Please participate in this fundraiser so we can help them expand to hospitals and cancer treatment centers in your area. Full details on our fundraiser (and what you'll receive) can be found by clicking here.


Alright, onto my November favorites....

Products I love for November 2010

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation

I'm impressed. Seriously, this has quickly become one of my new favorite foundations. The price is great (averaging $7.99 at most stores). They have a shade that works for me, although there are definitely no shades for those with deeper skin tones. The coverage is medium to full, with the ability to layer for greater coverage (this layers seamlessly). It's moisturizing, as it has a built-in primer. I still need to use a concealer with this foundation, but I probably could get away with not using a concealer if I really worked on layering this correctly (or if my skin would just behave for once). I don't need to use a setting powder with this foundation. It dries quickly and lasts all day. It will start to fade by bedtime, but who cares because by then I'm ready to wash off my makeup. I'm absolutely head over heels in love with this because of the price. My husband is too, because he's used to me buying $30 to $50 foundations. He understands my need/want for makeup, so he doesn't complain (too much), but he jumps for joy when I can find a $7.99 foundation that I actually love. I jump for joy too :)

Review & swatches posted here.

Illuminare Extra Coverage Foundation

Yes, another foundation on my November favs list (I actually tried out about 7 foundations this month). I am out of my samples that I originally purchased, so it's time to buy the full sized version of this amazing foundation. And by the way, one sample has lasted me about 6 full uses on my face!

Even though I really love the Rimmel foundation, I find myself wanting to use the Illuminare Extra Coverage Foundation all the time. It's so quick and easy to get a flawless complexion. And again, the coverage is wonderful!

Review & swatches posted here.

it Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer

I only tried out one new concealer this month. I picked it up after seeing it on QVC for about a minute at the end of its presentation. I had no real clue if it would be good or not, and I kind of purchased this blindly (I did no researching). I have to say, this may be my new favorite concealer. The coverage level is wonderful, but what I love the most is how non-drying this concealer is. It looks natural on your skin and covers all your imperfections. I plan to do a full review and swatch post soon.

Laura Geller Champagne Spackle

I don't like many Laura Geller products, but I do love her Spackle (which is her version of a makeup primer). I have the tinted spackle, which is bronze tinted, but I only use that in the summer. Then I see she comes out with the Champagne Spackle and I had to try it. It's BEAUTIFUL! It has such a pretty pearly champagne glow... yet it still works as a great makeup primer. I will do a full review with swatches on this product soon, but I highly suggest you try this out!

My new Maxx New York purse

I don't have a photo of it (yet) but I'm absolutely in love with my new purse. I love purses, but I'm not one of those people that buys designer bags. I don't own a Coach purse, not even a knock-off Coach purse, I've never paid more than $85 for a purse (although I do have one Kate Spade, which I won from a radio station several years ago). Most of my purses come from Target, any clearance rack, TJ Maxx or Ross.

However, my last Target purse purchase left me totally frustrated. Although I loved the look of it (an eggplant purple with zebra lining and plenty of space), the straps never stayed on my shoulder. Plus, I not only wanted a purse with a zipper top, I found I needed a purse with a zippered top. I can't even tell you how many times my purse has spilled out. I've lost medications that way too. It's just not good.

Since I was so frustrated I decided to do a little more QVC shopping and browsed the clearance section. I stumbled upon a Maxx New York Triple Entry Satchel that I just could not pass up. The color I chose was "rose", a pretty pink (looks red in the online photos) - although I kind of want it in black too.

This purse holds everything... and I mean EVERYTHING! It doesn't look like it would hold it all, but somehow it does. It's very sturdy too. I love all the individual pockets, including the two on the outside of the purse, which I use to put my phone and glasses when I'm going in and out of stores. But most of all, I love that it's all zippered so nothing will ever fall out again (or get wet in the rain). Even though spending $73 on a purse is almost three times the amount I would normally spend, I don't regret my choice and I'm very happy with my purchase (now if only I could get my husband on board with the purse price).

Not-So-Favorites for November 2010

Cover FX Total Coverage Cream Foundation

Can you tell I tried out a lot of foundations this month? I was excited to try this out again for the second time. All I remembered from the first try was the color wasn't right, but the coverage was there. I ordered this in M30, which looked too dark online, but since M20 was too light (the shade I ordered a year ago) I figured this would work. Nope, still too light (and very yellow - like a butter yellow). The coverage is still there, but now I remember what I didn't like about it. It's too dry. For a cream compact it's not all that creamy. It's hard to warm up with a brush, sponge, or your fingers. It's stiff to blend on your skin and it shows off every dry and flaky patch your skin may have. As much as I wanted to like this again, I think I'm going to give up on this product. Back to Sephora it goes.

Smashbox Mega Palette

I ordered this from QVC, although you can find the same thing at Ulta and other stores (just a different layout so they can claim it's exclusive to them). The first thing that turned me off was before I even opened this palette I had brown powder all over my fingers. Upon opening it, brown powder was everywhere. I found out that one of the brow powders (the only shade that would work for me, the brunette shade) had broken and gotten all over every single area. Then, the brushes included were awful. The tops came off from the handles within seconds (not even using it, just picking them up). The colors and selection in this palette are no where near what Smashbox quality truly is.

This is such a cheap palette - it even has that cheap makeup palette smell. The pigmentation of the shadows were lack luster, again, the same as all the other giant makeup palettes (like the ones Sephora and Ulta create). The brow wax wasn't even the same - this was pink tinted, and it's normally a beige look to the brow wax (which, of course, goes on clear). The blushes are that cheap makeup palette colors - barely there colors because the pigmentation is not there, so they describe them as "soft colors" to make them seem favorable. The cream liners aren't that great either, not up to the same quality as their regular cream liners. The glosses are worthless too. Not to mention if I were to actually clean up the palette most of the product would be gone because the brown brow powder is all over everything. I've been meaning to return this to QVC... actually, I'll go pack that up right after this blog post because it needs to get out of my life. I just hope I'm within the return window so I'm not stuck with this!

Lack of Sleep

My insomnia is back and I'm starting to really feel the effects. I'm worn out, I'm tired, and I want to get back on a normal schedule. My problem is I have so much going on that I feel very overwhelmed with everything. I find that I can get things done once everyone is alseep, but then I work all night and I'm so tired all day (and still have to work). Last night I tried to go to bed by midnight... but that did not happen. I was in by at 4:30am and up at 7:30am to take my son to school. What's worse is I'm out of Red Bull!! I swear, I just can't function without it! I'm not a coffee drinker, so Red Bull is my only means of energy (since regular soda does nothing for me).

So there you have it, my favorites and not-so-favorites for November. I will do my best to make proper blog posts this week with swatches, reviews, tips, tutorials, etc. but don't be surprised if I have to pull from the archives yet again. Not only do I have a lot of work to do (both with ValentineKisses.com and home related projects) but I also have my grandmom here visiting, so I need to make time for her too. On top of that, my husband is sick so I expect him to be out of commission for a few days. Once the next batch of inventory is up on the website then things will calm down. I hope to have it all up on the website by Sunday night, which means Monday is going to be a day to prop my feet up and relax!

I hope everyone is doing great and had a wonderful weekend! Have fun shopping all the great Cyber Monday sales! Don't forget about http://www.valentinekisses.com/!