YSL Rouge Volupté Shines - Review and Swatches

Hi everyone, I thought I would share with you my small collection of YSL Rouge Volupté Shines. 

I must admit that these are some of my favorite lipstick formulas out there. They feel on the lips are so smooth and lightweight. On top of that, they are long lasting.

These YSL Rouge Volupté Shines were purchased at either Sephora or Nordstrom (or if you are interested in these, check out anywhere that sells YSL makeup products). 

They retail for $35 and there are approximately 18 shades in the range.

The packaging is timeless and so luxe. I love how expensive and kind of heavy it feels in the hand. If you are going to be spending more than drugstore prices, I would expect nice quality and durable packaging that fits the price tag.

In the middle of the casing, you can see a "swatch" or a color indicator of the lipstick which is great because it does not look cheap and somewhat accurate.

As you can see from the picture above and below that I have used these lipsticks. Some more than others haha.

I absolutely love #12 in the summer months because it brings so much life to your face and look. It's so effortless to slap it on and go. When I wear #12, it will last me a solid 4-5 hours with a nice gradual fading/staining effect.

#9 is my go-to, ultimate favorite nude in my entire lipstick collection. It might be too dark for some but it's perfect for me. I have pigmented lipstick and this helps tone that down but has a little shine and some color. LOVE this one.

I would go for #5 and #17 during the fall or the transition from summer to fall. I think they are a touch too dark for the spring and summer. But the pigmentation is on point and apply beautifully.

Here are the swatches:

I LOVE this formula from YSL. They make a lipstick that stays on the lips and provides a slight staining effect. I think they are well worth the investment because: the packaging is gorgeous, the formula is perfection and provides a nice glossy finish to your lips, it stains your lips a little, and the color selection is great!

That's it for me. Do you have any favorites from YSL, whether they are Rouge Volupté Shines or anything else from the line? I would love to know them in the comments!!

I hope you enjoyed the post. And I will talk to you all soon :)

Bianca

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige - Swatches and Review

Seems like I cannot get enough highlighters in my life so I added another one to my collection haha. Seems so logical I know :P.

I have been a makeup "junkie" for a few years now and I have never given any of the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks a chance and I have no idea why. But better late than never right!?

A couple of days ago, I purchased this beautiful thang from my local Nordstrom and I knew I would love it! 

The golden/beige toned highlighters work best on my skin because of my olive/tan complexion. When I saw this in a recent YouTube video by Amanda Ensing, I knew I needed it in my life. 

When I approached the counter, the SA asked me if I wanted to swatch it or bite the bullet. In my mind I was thinking, "GUUURL I knew I loved it, it's just coming home with me tonight" hahaha. I'm crazy I know ;).

What I love about this Beige Shimmer Brick is that all the shades in the compact are neutral toned so they would look good on a variety of skin tones. And there is a gradient of a very pale golden beige to a bronze. The shades are not too dark so a mixture of all of them would compliment someone in the medium skin tone range. I would stick with the top two for the paler girls and the bottom three for everyone else :).

The compact is elegant and pretty. I must admit that there is excessive packaging but nothing that would stop me from buying it ;).

*Mine came a little crooked haha but it opens and closes fine so I don't have any issues with it (yet).

Here, above, I have the swatches for you. Bottom of my arm is the palest of the shades and working up to the top with the darker, bronze shades.

The swatch at the very bottom is a mixture of all the shades.

All the shimmer bricks are intense. If you want a subtle highlight, I do not think this will be the product for you. But if you want to be glowing and getting your J Lo "on", consider the Shimmer Bricks!

Recently I have been all about that noticeably intense highlight, thanks a lot Amrezy. So this is right up my alley :). For me personally, I LOVE this product and I can see myself reaching for this product a lot during this summer months for that glow :).

What are some of your favorite highlighters? Let me know in the comments.

Hope you are all well,
Bianca :)

Update:
I thought sun light would help my photos but I didn't realize how greenish it looked until after I posted my initial review so here is another pic of the swatches!

The swatch all the way to the right is all the shades combined :)

Tom Ford Lip Color Shine in #10 Willful - Review and Swatch

I was itching to get another Tom Ford lip product but I wanted to test out the Lip Color Shine range (that kind of reminds me of Chanel Rouge Coco Shines but slightly more pigmented). 

I was swatching up a storm at my local Tom Ford counter and I was torn between Nubile and Willful. I was on the verge of playing it safe and going with Nubile since it was a nude, every day kind of shade but right as I was about to make my decision, I sprung for Willful instead. I'm crazy haha and indecisive. But I'm so glad I went with Willful.

Willful is this bright strawberry red that is PERFECT for this time of year. It really lights up your face in a way I couldn't believe. It gives your complexion this healthy look. Crazy, I know, since it is a lip product but it's the right kind of shade for the spring and summer months.

With the Lip Color Shine range, these retail for $48 (instead of the $49 of the Lip Color range). These line is more hydrating as it has a special blend of oils that conditions and moisturizes your lips.

The packaging on these Shines is thinner and sleeker than the normal Lip Color range. I like both packaging but the Shines actually fit in the little hole/space in my lipstick holder! haha

As you can see, it has that classic mahogany and gold casing. It is quite heavy (for a lipstick) despite the sleeker packaging.

It does not have TF embossed like all the other TF lip sticks which bums me out slightly but you'd wear it down with use anyways :P.

Here is the swatch of that beauty. This is two swipes of Willful and it's pigmented enough to warrant buying or looking at it. It is not a glorified, slightly tinted, lip balm. A lot of the shades in the TF lip range pack a real punch when it comes to pigmentation.

Due to the fact that it is a lip shine, the wear time is not as long. Through drinking and snacking on some munchies, I got a solid 4 hours of wear (compared to almost 7 hours with the Lip Color range).

What do you think of Tom Ford's line? Over hyped? Or do you love it? Let me know your favorites or what you have on your wishlist in the comments :)

Hope you enjoyed this quick review,
Bianca :)

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Apricot - Review and Swatches

Lately, I've been a sucker for highlighters and I heard about this one from Amanda Ensing on YouTube. She mentioned how this Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick would be a high sheen, shimmery, gorgeous highlight that really compliments medium/tan skintones (hey, that's me!). 

I was never one for Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks or much of the range to be quite honest but my interest for the brand has grown in the past few months. And I'm glad I have because I have loved every product that I have purchased from this brand.

So, back to the highlighter, the shades within this product are gorgeous! *drools*

I purchased this bad boy at Nordstroms for $42. I am not 100% sure it is limited edition but it's still on sale since I was last on the Nordy's website or check in stores :).

The packaging with all Bobbi Brown products is a shiny black with the writing in white. 

They range from a white gold to a golden peach to a straight up bronze and into the peachier shades. All together, it makes this light golden peach shade that adds a lot of life back into the skin and looks so beautiful.

One thing I love about this product is that it is multi-purpose. This doubles as a eyeshadow "palette" and a sexy highlighter.

Here are the swatches of the Shimmer Brick. On the farthest left is the top shade and goes all the way to the right with the darkest of the peach shades. The last two swatches are of all the shades blended together. One swatch has more of the darker shades and the farthest right swatch has more of the lighter shades of the Shimmer Brick.

All in all, this is one heck of a highlighter. It is a touch powdery when you dip your brush into the product but it is not powdery once it is on the skin. I think this will be my go to highlighter for the summer since it is so intense and beautiful paired with peach and pink blushes.

I think I'll be purchasing the Beige Shimmer Brick next, I heard it was a close dupe to MAC's Whisper of Gilt (which I still regret never buying!!).

Anyways, have a great day/night and talk to you all soon!
Bianca

Chanel Reflets d'Ete - New Moon Illusion D'Ombre and Happy Glossimer

Chanel, you did it yet again. You have captured the hearts with a beautiful collection that has something that caters to so many.

Honestly, the collections that Chanel has come up with in the past few years have been real winner and this one isn't an except. This year's summer collection is called Reflets d'Ete de Chanel. 

I purchased two things from the collection: Illusion D'Ombre in New Moon and the Glossimer in Happy.

Safe to say that the whole collection is worth getting your hands on haha but I had to resist. It was hard, I must say.

First off, the Illusion D'Ombre in New Moon. I think it has been very hyped up in the beauty community (Youtube and in Beauty Blogs). Not just in the color of the shadow but the glitteriness that is in the shadow.

Some folks do not like that it has a buttload of multi-dimensional glitter but my oh my...it's beautiful! It can see this as a pop of glitter in a brown or black smokey eye.

In the box, you get a little brush that will help you apply the Illusion D'Ombre (works if you are on the go and in need of a touch up). I prefer to apply these with my finger tip or a stiff, thin eyeshadow brush for maximum pigmentation.

Can we just take a moment and admired how gorgeous this is! I swear, this does not do it justice. You have to see it in person and you will see why so many are loving this.

 Here is a swatch, one heavy and one sheered out. It has this golden, burgundy, copper, taupe color to it. It has different facets and you can see all of that when the light hits it and moves.

Note that when the shadow is sheered out that it becomes like a golden glitter shadow. *still beautiful either way*.

NEXT, the Glossimer in Happy.

I bet you are thinking... psh you spent $30 something on a sheer ass lipgloss? Gurrlll you cray.

Yes, yes I am haha. I purchased this as a layering gloss. Because in the tube, it looks like a bright, neon-ish pink gloss and it applied like a sheer, bordeline clear gloss haha.

It looks so pretty in the tube too. I wouldn't mind getting a gloss this color if it was more pigmented too :P.

So the reason I got this gloss was for layering purposes. I went into my Chanel counter and one of the MUAs used a pink-y nude lip liner all over my lips and applied the Happy gloss on top and I was sold. INSTANTLY.

It might look like nothing on it's own but it's so dynamic when you layer it. And in my opinion, it's perfection for the upcoming summer months.

So, did you pick up anything from this collection? I think I might pick up the Sunny glossimer and possibly the Cheek cream blush :O.

If you have any questions, feel free to answer them down below!

Hope you are all well,
Bianca xo