Votre Vu - Lip Lustre Vitamin E Lip Gloss - 4 shades: pics, swatches, review

Hello, Beautiful!

Out of all the Votre Vu products that I received, their Lip Lustre Vitamine E Lip Gloss are the products I have been using the most and what I've been so in love with! Don't get me wrong, I actually like/love a lot of the products that I have from them but these glosses are just pure love in a tube. It's like they were made just for me and they're all mine - except they weren't, and anyone can go buy them. I'd actually recommend you buy them. I have four shades to share with you in this post: Tart, Sweet, Sultry and Tender. They all look brighter/darker in the tube than they actually are, so don't let that fool you. Even the online swatches can look a bit darker, which is why I'm really excited to show you swatches - both on my hand and lips - so you can see what these really look like. Check out all the product info, along with my full review, after the pics!

Votre Vu - Lip Lustre Vitamin E Lip Gloss
Shades: Tart, Sweet, Sultry, Tender
Continue scrolling down to see more pics of each individual shade.

Votre Vu - Lip Lustre Vitamin E Lip Gloss
Shade: Tart (1330-10)

Votre Vu - Lip Lustre Vitamin E Lip Gloss
Shade: Sweet (1330-09)

Votre Vu - Lip Lustre Vitamin E Lip Gloss
Shade: Sultry (1330-06)

Votre Vu - Lip Lustre Vitamin E Lip Gloss
Shade: Tender (1330-07)

Votre Vu Lip Lustre Vitamin E Lip Gloss Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $22.00 -- $15.40 Brand Ambassador price (0.28 oz full size). Available on the Votre Vu website. For more details on their Brand Ambassador program scroll to the bottom of this post.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Kisses!

Product Info...

Your addiction to glossy and enticing lips is excessively justified with Vu's sinfully rich Lip Lustre gloss. Drench your lips in luminous, conditioning color with these beguiling blends, featuring green tea extract and nourishing vitamin E. your glossed-and-found smile can be as simple as a solo shade - or brush on a mix of colors for a stunning signature look.

Currently available in 9 shades. Listed below are the shade names and the descriptions as listed on the Votre Vu website.

• Tart: a sheer electric tangerine with flecks of icy glimmer.
• Sweet: a chic and icy sorbet pink that pops with cool-toned attitude. Nothing baby or demure about it!
• Sultry: sheer and glimmery toasty bronze that adds a light layer of welcomed warmth.
• Tender: a soft, rich and velvety mid-tone rose sans sparkle.
• Demure: optimal opalescent - sheer, shiny and plays well with every lip color!
• Charming: a sophisticated and sparkle-free ballet pink saturated with pastel pigment.
• Tempting: your gorgeous go-to berry lustre.
• Passionate: an attention magnet, this shiny and sheer classic true red is the color of love.
• Darling: an ethereal and sheer pastel pink with a glint of glimmer.

My Review...

As I mentioned at the top of this post, I really fell in love with these lip glosses. I'll start by talking about the formula, then I'll get into the shades.

These glosses go on so nicely! They feel very comfortable and cushiony on the lips - even a bit creamy. They're non-sticky, not tacky at all, but yet are very glossy/shiny - which in turn makes your lips looks fuller and more juicy. There is no noticeable scent or flavor. If anything I'd say maybe a very small hint of vanilla. They're all great on their own or topped over lipsticks.

In terms of shades, I actually like them all but love three of them and just only like one of them. Just looking at them, I would have never ever picked the Sultry shade. It looks like a dark frosty brown that would never look good on me. But upon swatching and testing it on my lips I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a sheer bronze brown shade with shimmer. This is the only shade I like and not love, just because on its own it doesn't look all that great on me and isn't my cup of tea but I do like to put it on top of lighter color lipsticks to warm them up a bit.

Now let's talk about the three shades I absolutely love: Tender, Tart, and Sweet. Tender is a gorgeous pinky nude shade with no shimmer. One of those everyday colors you could throw on and wear with anything. For me, it's one of those your-lips-but-better shades. I wear it on its own or topped over the Votre Vu French Kiss Moisture Riche Lipstick in Lisette. I haven't topped it over other lipsticks yet, but I know it would look amazing on top of many shades. It's just a great neutral gloss that is so pretty and I'd highly recommend this shade.

Tart looks like a vibrant orange in the tube, but it comes out as a super pretty wearable orange that I'd describe as more of a orange sherbet shade with shimmer. Even a bit coral. It has been one of the shades I can't stop wearing. Just really pretty on the lips and one that I wasn't sure I'd like but I ended up loving.

Sweet looks like a vibrant blue based hot pink, but it comes out more sheer in tone. Don't get me wrong, it's still a bright pink but it's not an in-your-face bright pink once on your lips. It actually looks gorgeous over top of the shade Tart, and also over any pink lipsticks or nude lipsticks that you want to add a more pink hue to.

Overall, I really fell in love with these glosses on first swatch and the more I wear them, the more I love them. I'd definitely want to try other shades from the line - mostly the shade Tempting! If you plan to try some Votre Vu products, please don't skip on ordering one or two of these glosses. They have a wonderful formula and the shades are so pretty! Highly recommend!



Votre Vu Brand Ambassador -- CLICK HERE for more details.
Please Note: I am NOT a Votre Vu Brand Ambassador; I simply want to provide those details for anyone interested.

• Sign up for as little as $199
• Receive $400 to $1,000 in top selling products when you sign-up; you get to pick your pak!
• Always enjoy a 30% discount on all purchases.
• Every 3rd (and most expensive) item is 50% off retail on every order.
• Enjoy amazing monthly Brand Ambassador product specials.
• Receive extra rewards for referring others to become Brand Ambassadors!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this product? Have you tried this or is this on your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below.

Blog sale is being updated - AGAIN!

Hello, Beautiful!

Now that my son is back in school and I'm in full organization mode, I am doing yet another purge on my makeup collection! I have already started to gather more items to add to the blog sale. In addition, I am lowering prices of almost ALL the nail polish.

If you've emailed me with a list of items, please hang tight as I will respond but only after I update the blog sale so you can get the new, lower prices (plus check out the rest of the items I'm going to be adding).

Just wanted to make that quick note!

xoxo,

Crystal

Sephora Waterproof Retractable Brow Pencil: before & after, pics, swatch, review

Hello, Beautiful!

My son has finally started school again; fourth grade! He started on Monday and I've spent the past three days deeply cleaning my house, running errands, and relaxing a bit (since I feel like I'm getting sick), and I totally neglected my blog work - but I also was having issues with my wifi connecting so I technically couldn't get on the computer very much at all. This morning I thought I better get some blog work done and get back into the swing of things! I have SO MANY products I've taken photos of and tested out that I want to share with you all. I just need to take the time to process those photos and write up the blog posts. Expect 1 to 2 blog posts a day once I finally get back into the swing of things.

I'm also going to start filming YouTube videos, starting with an updated makeup collection & storage! I'll likely do a beauty room tour too, since I'm in a new house and everything is very different from the old set-up. Give me a week or two to get back into the swing of things, as I'm still working on deep cleaning & organizing my house, and then I'll be making blog posts and YouTube videos on a regular schedule!

Enough gibber gabber, let's get into this blog post!

In this blog post I have yet another brow product review for you! If you know me, I love trying new foundations and new brow products more than any other product (although I love my lippies too). I'm actually really excited about this blog post because the brow product I'm featuring is the closest dupe to the Anastasia Brow Wiz that I have yet to find, and it's $8 cheaper than the Anastasia. And by the way, why have I not done a blog post about the Brow Wiz from Anastasia?! It's my holy grail brow pencil, yet I've never talked about it here before. I guess I'll add that to my list of blog posts to do (I do have her Brow Pomade and Brow Powder coming up in future posts, just FYI).

The brow product in this post is the Sephora Waterproof Retractable Brow Pencil! I have the shade 04 Midnight Brown, but of course just shortly after I made my purchase online they added three new shades (one of which I think I would have liked to try out as well). This retails for $13, which is a decent price point for how great the product is!

Check out all the product info and my full review below, after the pics!

Sephora Waterproof Retractable Brow Pencil
Shade: 04 Midnight Brown

Sephora Waterproof Retractable Brow Pencil Info & Review:

Cost/Availability: $13.00 (0.003 oz full size). Available at Sephora.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Kisses

Product Info...

These retractable pencils create fuller looking, perfectly-defined eyebrows. To dispense color, twist the pencil and the always-sharp tip comes up. Easy-to-hold, it give you perfect control to create precise hair-like strokes. Use the comb tip to brush brows and blend. Long-wearing formula stays put without smudging.

Now available in 7 shades (shades 05, 06, and 07 are the three newest shades):

• 01 Honey Blonde
• 02 Nutmeg Brown
• 03 Rich Chestnut
• 04 Midnight Brown
• 05 Neutral Gray Brown
• 06 Soft Charcoal
• 07 Auburn

My Review...

I had purchased this brow pencil when Sephora only had 4 shades available; of course they now offer 7 shades (which went live on their website shortly after I made my purchase). I chose the shade 04 Midnight Brown, but seeing the new shades available I may have gotten 05 Neutral Gray Brown also to try, as I need an ashy brown shade.

I am in a constant search for an Anastasia Brow Wiz dupe, since $21 can add up when I can easily go through one Brow Wiz every 4 to 6 weeks (with daily use), and I have yet to find an exact dupe in the size, formula, performance and most importantly, the color match. In Anastasia I am Medium Brown (formerly called Ash Brown), and it's the best match to my brows that I've ever found (out of the 30 to 40+ brow products I've tried in just recent years). The Sephora brow pencil is a great dupe to the Anastasia in terms of size, application and performance - although the shade I have isn't an exact match to the Medium Brown shade from Anastasia (but maybe one of the other new shades would match?). Plus, this is $13 compared to $21, saving me $8 -- and they contain the same amount of product.

First, let's talk about looks. This is a thin, retractable brow pencil. It has a similar shape & size to the Brow Wiz and also the tip is similar in size -- although I think the Anastasia one is just a teeny tiny bit smaller. The major difference in looks is the Brow Wiz has a spooley and the Sephora brow pencil has a comb. I'm not a fan of the comb on the Sephora brow pencil, but it works a lot better than the comb on the Maybelline Define-a-Brow. I still prefer a spooley every single time.

The color choices are good. There are now 7 shades to choose from, which means you will likely find a great match for your brows. The shade I have, 04 Dark Brown, is actually a tad too warm toned but only by a little. In the photos it shows up more warm in tone than how it appears in person, as the studio lights tend to make everything more noticeable. It's a good enough match, and I'd definitely recommend it if you have brow hairs similar to me or are the Medium Brown shade from Anastasia.

The consistency of this pencil is a bit drier and less waxy than some other brow pencils, which I like because I find waxy pencils don't stick around and tend to smudge off very easily. They can also clump up in your brow hairs and make things look more unnatural. The comb that comes with this brow pencil will work to comb the product through, but I still prefer to use a spooley because I feel a spooley distributes the product easier and more evenly. Although the comb can make it look like brow hairs, depending on how you work it.

As far as how this performs, I find this brow pencil to really go the distance! Because it's waterproof, I find it sticks around all day on my brows - even in the summer heat. I didn't go swimming with it, so I can't comment on how waterproof it would hold up through swimming or the beach, but for my everyday life this pencil is morning to night wear.

I do use it as the only brow product for my brows, but I often will combine it with other products. For example, I'll use the Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade from mid to tail of my brows to outline and fill in, then I'll take the Sephora brow pencil for the inner third of my brow to outline and fill in - which gives me a softer look at the front of my brows but still defined.

I think this is a great brow pencil at a reasonable price point. Sure it's not drugstore pricing, but some of these drugstore products are right around the same price anyway - you just can't use coupons on the Sephora one as easily as you can for drugstore products. If you do like this brow pencil, I'd recommend using your 15% or 20% off coupon codes that Sephora sends out a few times a year and stock up on few; I know I plan to get one or two when I get my 20% off code!

If you couldn't already tell by my glowing review, I'd for sure recommend this brow pencil. The Anastasia Brow Wiz is still my holy grail but this Sephora brow pencil has been the closest dupe to date.

I think this is a great brow pencil at a good price. It's not drugstore pricing, but compared to higher end brow pencils this product at $13 comes in at a good price point. Certainly one to check out if you love the Anastaisa Brow Wiz but need a budget friendly option, or if you just want a thinner brow pencil that will make your brows look great and last all day!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this brow pencil? Have you tried this or is this on your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below.

#sephora #brows #browpencil #dupe #beforeandafter

Ipsy - August 2014: pics, swatches and mini reviews!

Hello, Beautiful!

This is my August 2014 Ipsy bag! Check out below to see what I received, a little about each product and my thoughts, as well as a break-down of the value of this month's bag!

Ipsy is just $10 a month! Each month you'll receive 4 to 6 deluxe or even full-sized products. If you want to sign-up for your own Ipsy bag, CLICK HERE (it's my referral link - you don't have to use my referral link; it only gives me points that I can save up to redeem for prizes in the future).

August 2014 Ipsy Bag

Shipment Quick Stats:

• Value of this month's Ipsy Bag: $34.23 (value is approximate & does not include value of actual bag)
• Total # of Items Received: 5
• # of FULL SIZED items: 2
• # of makeup items: 4
• # of nail items: 0
• # of hair care items: 1
• # of skin care items: 0
• # of body care items: 0
• # of fragrance items: 0

Now I'll talk about each product...

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara

• MY THOUGHTS: I was really hoping to get this sample in this month's bag, and I'm actually a big fan of this mascara. It is a nice rich, deep black shade and it provides great length and volume in just one coat -- two coats is the way I roll. Really happy with this mascara... might have to get this in full size when this sample runs out.
• FULL SIZE: 0.4 fl oz @ $22.00
• SIZE I RECEIVED: 0.1 fl oz
• VALUE: $5.50

Klorane Extra-Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk

 

• MY THOUGHTS: This is my holy grail dry shampoo, so I was really excited to get this in my bag. I love, love, LOVE this dry shampoo. Far more than any I've tried. If you've been looking for a good dry shampoo then I highly recommend this!
• FULL SIZE: 50 ml @ $8.99
• SIZE I RECEIVED: 50 ml
• VALUE: $8.99

Dr. Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner Primer

 

• MY THOUGHTS: I am excited to try this, because it reminds me a lot of the Benefit Porefessional. I haven't tried it yet, but will absolutely put this to use!
• FULL SIZE: 1 oz @ $45.00
• SIZE I RECEIVED: 0.25 fl oz
• VALUE: $11.25

J. Cat Beauty Flying Solo Eye Shadow
Shade: Half Naked

• MY THOUGHTS: A nice champagne shade, nothing unique but certainly a usable shade. Good pigmentation and texture. I'll use this for sure!
• FULL SIZE: 0.09 oz @ $2.99
• SIZE I RECEIVED: 0.09 oz
• VALUE: $2.99

Jersey Shore Sun Mongongo Nutrient Dense Anti-Aging Lip Conditioner
Flavor: Mandarin Green Orange Ginger

• MY THOUGHTS: I really liked this... at first. I thought it smelled great and it does feel nice on the lips. However, what made me stop liking it is the flavor/scent. To me, it smells/tastes like the lemon lime Cold Eeze... and now I can't use this. They do have a Vanilla Coconut Creme flavor, which I think would be a much better option for me.
• FULL SIZE: 0.15 oz @ $5.50
• SIZE I RECEIVED: full size
• VALUE: $5.50

The actual bag everything comes in...

• This is cute in pattern, but I'm not a fan of the shape. They're okay for storing some makeup brushes or mascaras and liners, but not really totally practical. Smells like a pool inflatable.

My Thoughts On The Entire Bag...

• FULL SIZE/DELUXE SIZE: This bag contained 2 full size items and 3 deluxe sized items.
• VALUE: The value was approximately $34.23
• USAGE: I will everything, except the lip balm and if I was okay with the lip balm, I would have used EVERYTHING in this bag.
• FINAL THOUGHTS: This was a good bag; I loved it all and will use it all (minus the lip balm). Happy that Ipsy didn't give me a bad bag like the last two.

Let me know what you think...

What are your thoughts on this month's Ipsy bag? Did you receive an Ipsy bag this month? If so, what did you get in your bag? Discuss in the comments below.