Benefit Cheek Me Out Set High Beam and Posie Tint - Swatch and Review

One thing I love about Benefit products is that they offer many trial size versions and sets so you get to try more product for the money.

Packaging

• Small and cute but contains enough products for several uses. Both has a brush applicator similar to nail polish brush applicators.
• .13 oz each or 4 ml each

Product

• High Beam is a pearlescent white shimmer highlighter. The shimmers are very fine and subtle and adds just the perfect amount of glow without looking harsh or overdone. With the brush applicator, apply just a few dots on the area you want to highlight and quickly blend with your finger or a brush before the product sets. A little goes a long way.
• Posie Tint is a medium cool toned pink liquid/gel blush tint. This one is a trick pony and I don't recommend that you apply directly to your skin because it will stain almost immediately and may look patchy on your cheeks. What I do is I use a small stippling brush and dab a bit of Posie Tint around the stippling brush and then quickly blend it on my cheek area. This is help create a more even application.
• I really like how natural both of these product look on me. They last up to 6 hours before I notice some fading.

Final Thought

I love Posie Tint. As long as you work with a brush and blend it quickly, you'll get a lovely and natural flush that will last fairly long. High Beam is also a nice highlighter although personally I don't feel that there is anything special about it. This is a nice set though. The price is just right and you will get several uses in spite of the little packaging. If you're a makeup hoarder like myself, you will find these trial size pretty convenient and satisfying without having to invest on a full size product and they make excellent travel buddies.

Rating: 9/10

Price: $13
Availability: Ulta

Wearing Posie Tint on cheek and High Beam above it

Tried it? Tell me what you think or which is your favorite Benefit product.

Sephora Haul

I haven't stepped inside a Sephora store in what seems like ages. I wasn't looking for anything in particular...just looking if anything interesting catches my attention.

Benefit How To Look The Best At Everything kit, $30.00. Comes in 3 shades: light, medium, and deep. My daughter wanted this set for herself...*sigh* that's what happens when she shops with me...double the trouble! Packaging is very sturdy and adorable! Looks like a book and comes with tips and tricks on how to look your best. The set includes: the Porefessional primer, Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow, Boi-ing 2 and 3, I'm cute as a bunny powder and a flat face brush.

Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelee, $22.00. Looks like jello and feels like jello. Definitely got my attention. I played with it in store and I think this is something I had to have. Yes, I know I don't need another blush but just the fact that it is different from all the blushes that I own or tried, I can justify the need for it, lol. I got the shade Poppy Paradise, which is a warm red.

Sephora + Pantone Universe Light Storm Liquid Shadow Smoky Grape, $18.00. I can't find this anywhere on Sephora's website. I don't know what the deal it is with that BUT this cream eyeshadow has an awesome lilac/teal duochrome to it. After playing with it to get a feel for the texture and application, I said Oh yeah baby! You're coming home with me!

Urban Decay Beauty Balm (travel size), $14.00. So glad they had a travel size cause I just wanted to try it. This is .5 oz.

With 100 points, I redeemed for the Dior Capture Total One Essential serum. The cashier was nice enough to throw in a couple samples.

I think that was enough damage for the weekend. Did you do any shopping? What did ya haul?

Benefit Watt's Up Highlighter (Birthday Sample) - Review and Swatch

The Benefit Watt's Up highlighter I have here was from the Sephora Birthday package for 2013. If you're not a Sephora Beauty Insider then I would urge you to sign  up because it's free and you get a free birthday gift on your birthday.

Watt's Up is a shimmery light champagne color that does a very good job at mimicking a natural glow. The shimmer is subtle and fine. It's described as a cream to powder product. I like that kind of finish as it seems to last longer and this particular highlighter was also very easy to blend with my fingers.

Frankly for me, it's not something I need. I have natural shine myself and this looks no different than my natural shine. I prefer highlighters with a bit more "color" to them, otherwise highlighter is a product I often skip on and can honestly do without in my beauty stash.

Overall, this is a nice highlighter for those who want or need a bit more luster on their face. If you are naturally shiny, like myself, you probably won't need to pay $30 (the full size product) for something that will give you the same result.

Do you use highlighters regularly? Which one is your favorite?

Sephora Chic Week Haul

Hey everyone!

I wasn't able to go to the store when the sale started so I made my purchase online and I just received my order yesterday. I don't know if you had the same problem as I did but it nearly took a week for me to receive my order, yet Sephora claims that it will be a 3-day shipping if over $50.00. I'm perfectly fine that it only took a week but it bothers me when a company promises things they can't deliver. Another thing is that I'm a VIB and I didn't get one of those VIB bag, not a big deal but I wonder if I entered the wrong code or something, IDK.

Anyhow, the sale ends 4/21. You can order online or go in-store to get 15% off your total purchase. When ordering online, use discount code CHICWEEK.

I'm rather proud of myself that I mostly picked up things I needed.

I purchased:

• Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion for my son, $35.00
• Sephora 8 hr Mattifying Moisturizer Sunscreen, $22.00. This is currently available online only.
• Sephora + Pantone Universe Glitter Strobe Eyeliner Set, $18.00. The tubes are rather small but considering that you're getting 4 of them. It's still a good value for the price. 

As you can see, these eyeliners are nearly as tall as a MAC lipstick. I was dying to get my hands on the emerald lid stain but it sold out before I placed my order. That was a huge bummer because I was so looking forward to it. Hopefully, they restock it. I probably will purchase it in-store once I'm able to drive again.

My birthday is next week and I was able to claim my free Beauty Insider gift. It includes a mini Benefit They're Real mascara and a mini Watt's Up highlighter. I know a lot of people love this mascara but I'm probably one of a few who dislikes mascara in general because they don't do anything but clump on my barely noticeable lashes and they end up looking like small insect legs, haha. Sorry for the graphic description but if your lashes are as little and thin as mine, I'm sure you know what I mean. I will get better uses out of the highlighter for sure.

Lastly, I redeemed a 100 points for a mini Tarte Amazonian Clay Double Detox Facial Mask. It's so small I'll probably only get 1 or 2 uses out of it.

I received a few free samples:

• Miss Dior Eau de Parfum sample
• Living Proof Prime Style Extender. This is the first time I heard of a hair primer. I just used it on my hair and it's a lightweight gel that has a nice citrusy scent with a little hint of floral. 
• DKNY Eau de Parfum spray Be Delicious Intense. I'm not typically attracted to sweet scents but I like the scent of this one. It has a fresh clean scent to it. 
• Make Up Forever Pro Finish Powder foundation

So that's it. I know it's a rather underwhelming haul but I'm most excited about the eyeliner set, which I will review for you soon. Did you take advantage of the sale? If yes, what did you get?

Benefit Swatch and Review - Coral My World Set

This little handy dandy Benefit set is sold at Sephora for only $12.00. Pretty awesome for beauty junkies like myself because you don't have to dish out a lot of money on the full size product but still get to try it. You'll definitely get a decent amount of use out of them before you decided if you actually need the full size. I love it when companies sell a mini version of it. The only full size products I'm able to finish are skincare. The rest take a lot longer, especially with a large collection.

 

On this set, Coralista comes in a cheap black plastic packaging. The packaging is not the sturdiest but it's practical. It contains 3 g or 0.1 oz of product. The full size contains .28 oz for $28.00, which is just a little over 50% more. I actually don't like the bulky packaging of the full size but it does include a brush, which most of us probably don't need.

Coralista is a bit loose and powdery but doesn't feel dry. It is quite gorgeous when blended. It has a subtle gold sheen to it. It's very easy to apply and blend, almost fool-proof since it would be hard to overdo. The wear time is about 5 hours on me before it starts fading. So I would say it's pretty average. Because I find it rather light, it might not show well on people with darker skintone.
I like it overall. It gives me a nice dewy flushed cheeks.

I would give it a 8/10 rating.

Sun beam is a highlighter. It contains 4.0 mL or .13 oz. The packaging is similar to the full size version, which contains .45 oz (3 times more) for $26.00.

Comes with a small brush applicator similar to nail polish brushes.

Sunbeam is a rather cool toned golden sheen. Looks very subtle on me. It blends fairly easily but I prefer to use a stipple blush to blend it. To me it's a nice to have but don't need it kind of product. Others might feel differently about it. It does however last quite well and will make it through most of your day. I guess highlighters aren't really something I feel does much enhancement on me. Overall, it is still a good product though.

I would give it a 9/10 rating.

Which are your favorite Benefit products?

Hopefully My Last Sephora Haul for 2012

I pretty much waited until the last day to redeem my reward coupon. I went to Sephora after I got off work and by then I was seeing some sparse snow flake coming down. Luckily was nothing alarming.

I definitely needed to restock on face moisturizer and eye cream so when I saw that the Sephora Instant Moisture Kit was on sale for....$10 only! I had to do a double take, lol, cause I thought I was seeing things. This set, which normally is sold for $26, comes with 3 generously sized Sephora skincare products. I had received a sample of the Sephora moisturizer before and I really liked it. The cleansing foam is also pretty good! I purchased it on my previous Sephora haul. Will do a review on that soon. The roll-on for eyes would be something new to me. Since I was getting such an awesome deal on this set, I actually bought two of them. I just didn't include it in the picture.

The Sephora Waterproof makeup remover ($9.50) is also a repurchase. It's a really good remover, the next best thing to Lancome Bi-Facils. 

I decided to try a new eye cream. Previously, I have been using the Boscia Enlivening Amino-AG eye treatment and while I really loved it, I wanted to see if there is potentially something better out there.  After testing and feeling a few of the eye creams that they had in store, I narrowed down my options to the Clarins Advanted Extra-Firming Eye Contour Cream and the Shiseido Bio-Performance Super Eye Contour Cream. All the other creams were either too expensive, smelled funky, didn't have a nice texture, or I didn't like the packaging.
This is probably the most expensive eye cream I have ever purchased so I am really hoping that it makes me happier than my previous cream. This Clarins eye cream cost $60 but it does contains about 20% more product than the typical eye cream. Secondly, I like the pump packaging. I HATE dipping my fingers into a jar. The product always end up underneath my nails, which is a huge pet peeve for me, lol. I also like that it had a very subtle but pleasant scent. I get really turned off by strong and offensive scents, especially if I'm going to wear it on my face. The texture was lightweight, silky, yet felt a bit more moisturizing that my former eye cream. It absorbs quickly. So far it has the look and feel of what I want in an eye cream. The Shiseido Bio-Performance was also similar but price-wise, I was getting a better bargain with Clarins.

And the next few items were stuff that accidentally fell into my basket! LOL.

I want clear pores and I wonder if this Origins mask ($16) will help. I happen to see this little tube on my way to the cash register. Glad they make this in a smaller size for try out.

Benefit Coral My World ($12). Ok, seriously I am debating if I should gift it or keep it. I love these deluxe sample size products. It allows me to try them for cheaper. This is especially good and economical for makeup hoarders like myself. 

Lastly, I purchased a $10 gift card for our white elephant gift exchange tomorrow at work. We did that last Christmas and it has hilarious and so much fun actually. Rules may vary but for us, we had to purchase a $10 gift card and include some clues in the bag and the person who randomly picks your bag, has to guess what the gift card is for based on the clues. All the gifts will be wrapped and put on a table. Everyone will pick a number which will determine who will be going first, next, and last. Each person can choose one gift other than theirs from the table, will open in from of everyone and guess the gift card. The next person to go has the option of keeping the gift they picked out if they like or steal any of the previous gifts that were revealed. So in this game, you really want to be the last person because you can steal anyone's gift, LOL. Last year, we had a few people stealing gifts, it was so funny. And the funny thing is it was the gift that I bought. The person who won my gift last year, had a $10 gift card to Victoria Secrets plus $12 worth VS items. This year, I'm only putting a handful of beauty samples as clues.

So that's it for my haul. Have you every played a white elephant gift exchange? If so, let me know how you liked it, haha. What did you redeem your Sephora reward coupon for?

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Sephora VIB Hauling!

If you have been following my posts, it may have crossed your mind that I'm out of control. Well, I will admit to be guilty as charged. I have been hauling like no tomorrow. There is no other way to justify this madness other than the fact that there has been some very interesting new products hitting the market at about the same time. Companies also love to have their rare sales at about the same time and it's usually the perfect time to go bonko, snag what you've been lusting, and stock on the stuff you've been loving.
I've made some financial damage in the past few weeks. I've lost track of how much I've spend and on what. I just know a lot of the stuff I got were on sale and I know that I am extremely elated with all the new goodies that I've acquired.

Anyhow, let's move on to my haul...

The first thing on my list was the NARS Danmari blush palette. I was worried that it would be sold out but I was lucky enough to make this one mine. I probably don't need this but since it is limited edition and you get six shades all in this palette, I was just compelled to get it. The blushes in the palette are also a pretty good size. This is perfect for those who want to try NARS blushes but don't want to spend $27.00 on a single blush. This palette is simply beautiful! With the 20% discount, I just couldn't pass it up.

Top row from left to right: Hungry Heart Duo, Orgasm, and Desire.
Bottom row from left to right: Casino, Super Orgasm, and Sin.

Kat Von D Foiled Love lipsticks. I was actually amazed that when I tried to google swatches for these lipsticks, I really didn't have much luck at all. I was able to find swatches for Adora and it is a beautiful and fierce lip color but I decided to skip it. I wanted to buy shades that were more wearable so I can get the most use out of them since they are not cheap.

I was intrigued by the fact that they are supposed to give you a metallic finish. I picked the shades F.T.W. (on left) and Forever & Never (on right). Let me start by saying, the packaging on these lippies is just beautiful! Metallic with Roses etched on the case.
I had no clue what the acronym F.T.W stands for but googled it anyways, lol...It means "For The Win." Anyways, it's a gorgeous metallic raspberry pink shade. Forever & Never is also a very nice metallic pink nude. I wore it today for work and really love how it looks on my lips. I will sure posts swatches and review of these lipsticks.

Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencil Stash. I like the range of color. This is such a great value pack to start with and I love it even more when I can get a discount on it.

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow. I got the shade Flatter Me. It's a shimmery pinkish nude cream shadow. I was so tempted to get a few more of these since I've really been into cream shadows lately. I love Benefit cream shadows, they go on like butter and do not crease at all. I wanted to pick them all but realize that it wasn't a realistic thing to do.

Boscia Luminizing Black Mask. I bought a skincare kit from Sephora during the summer and there was a sample size of this mask. I really loved it when I tried it so now I am purchasing the full-size tube.

So far this is what I got on the first day of the VIB sale. I am trying to think of what else I need to restock on before the sale ends. I will most likely stock up on more skincare products. So stay tuned for more hauling! SMH. I'm still waiting on two orders to get shipped...lol.
Once all these sales are over, I'm gonna have to ban myself from shopping.

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Hauling again...Few things from Sephora

I actually bought these products last weekend but I didn't get a chance to make a post. I felt great coming home with my new stuff and then the guilty feeling comes afterward.
I went to Sephora to return the Dior lash primer that I bought not long ago. I felt like it wasn't really working for me and that I don't find myself reaching for it so I might as well get something that will be more useful for me. A co-worker also gave me a Sephora gift card, so I was also looking forward to use it. I must've spend at least an hour inside Sephora going back and forth with what I'm going to get, focusing primarily on what I actually need.

After falling in love with the Boscia Eye Treatment, I was very eager to try more of their product. I was in need of a night cream so I bought the Restorative Night Moisture Cream. One thing I don't like about the packaging is that it's quite bulky for a 1 oz product. However, it's packaged differently than most facial creams. You basically pump the product out of there, which is very neat and I really like that. I hate digging my finger in a jar and getting the cream stuck between in my fingernails. That's one of my pet peeves.

Here is what this product claims to do...quoting from the packaging "a rich hydrating cream that delivers high levels of intense moisture overnight while it helps diminish the appearance of uneven skin tone, dullness, and fine lines". I've used this ever since last weekend and so far, I've been loving it. The cream feels rich but absorbs quickly and does not leave a greasy feeling behind. I love how my skin feels after using it. The texture of it is soooo silky smooth. I also like the fact that it is scent-free. So no funky or overpowering scent to worry about. This cream retails for $48.00.

The last time I tried to get this Benefit cream shadow, it was sold out. Fortunately, this time I was able to grab very the last one on the shelf. Benefit cream shadows are among the best on the market. They do not crease or budge and are long-wearing. Those qualities are difficult to find in cream shadows.
It's quite pigmented, applies smoothly, and easy to blend. Retail price is $19.00.

Tidal Rave is a shade exclusive to Sephora. It's a muted teal with gold shimmers. It's so pretty and I can see why it flies off the shelf fast.

Following Teena Z's post, I had to get my hands on this palette. I have been saving my points for something worth getting and finally this was it! First off, this is not something you can buy off the shelf. It's a palette exclusive to Sephora and only for Beauty Insiders who have 500+ points.
They've combined two eyeshadows from each of Too Faced palettes (Natural Eye, Smoky Eye, Naked Eye, and Romantic Eye) and put them in here. Secondly, I love the packaging of this so much better because it's not as bulky as the original palettes. They have also included a mini sample size Too Faced Shadow Insurance.

The eyeshadows are very pigmented, especially the shimmery ones. The range of these colors make them wearable for either day or night.

• Heaven is a matte nude color, which almost didn't show up on the picture because it blends so well with my skin
• Push-Up is a shimmery bronze
• Silver Spoon is a metallic silver with blue undertones
• Smolder is a matte black
• Satin Sheets is a shimmery rose gold. This shade is slightly sheer
• Like a Virgin is a medium brown with grey undertone
• Honey Moon is a muted shimmery gold with a green undertone
• Ever After is shimmery brown with a bit of red undertone to it

Hope you enjoyed my little splurge.