Tarte "Girl Meets Gloss" Holiday 2012 Maracuja Divine Shine Lip Gloss Gift Set Review

I always look forward to Tarte's holiday sets because they consistently seem to have a nice selection with lots of variety. This year they introduced a holiday gift set called "Girl Meets Gloss" which features five Maracuja Divine Shine Lip Glosses. The set is exclusively available at QVC.

Tarte Girl Meets Gloss

Maracuja Divine Shine Lipglosses

Glow: I really like the formula of these glosses. They have a thick consistency and sort of a minty/tingly feel and scent. They aren't overly sticky and the length of wear is pretty good, I got about a decent 3 hours of consecutive wear before I felt the need to reapply.

Glare: I'm not really a fan of sheer glosses and these are very sheer with a light tint of color. In the photos above I had to really layer on the gloss just to get them semi opaque. So if you're someone who already has dark or pigmented lips like myself then these may not be for you unless you like the sheer look. Another thing that sort of annoyed me is that the click pen applicator required a lot of clicks on the first use just to get the gloss to come up. Once you get it to dispense to the brush you're good to go though. I also don't really like the brush applicator but that could be just a matter of preference. The brush just made the application process more streakier for me and I would've preferred a regular sponge tip for these because of the formula. 

Would I Recommend It? Ehh, the price is great being that you can get 5 glosses for $34.95 when a single gloss costs $21. I do like the glosses and think they'd be perfect for a natural/everyday look. Because of the subtle color and sheerness they also go well with most skin-tones so they are pretty versatile in that sense. Do I think these glosses are a must-have? My verdict is no, I prefer something a bit more opaque and pigmented. 

Where To Buy: The limited edition "Girl Meets Gloss" gift set is currently available at www.qvc.com and retails for $34.95.

Product(s) in this post were provided for post consideration. Read our disclosure policy here. 

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Zoya Ornate Collection for Holiday 2012 | Swatches + Review

I pre-ordered Zoya's Holiday/Winter Collection "Ornate" a few weeks ago and I've finally got my hands on it! The full collection consists of six shimmery holographic glitters but I only bought four of them because the green and gold didn't really stand out to me. The shades are really pretty and were definitely worth the wait! 

Aurora

A purple/plum holographic, microdiamond glitter

 Blaze

A red/plum holographic, microdiamond glitter

 Storm

A black holographic, microdiamond glitter

 Electra

A silver/grey holographic, microdiamond glitter

Glow: I am completely in love with these polishes! Out of the three Storm, Aurora, and Blaze are my favorites. This is my first experience with holographic shimmers like these that are so glittery, they are smooth and easy to remove unlike actual glitters. The formula of each shimmer is very creamy and I only needed 2 coats to get them completely opaque.

Glare: The only con for me is Electra; it's described as a holographic shade but it has larger pieces and is more like confetti. I wish I had paid attention to swatches of it before buying because I really could've done without it :-/ It just doesn't do it for me. It might look better paired with another color I might test that out later. 

Would I Recommend It? I'd definitely recommend Storm, Aurora, and Blaze. They're simply gorgeous and must-haves in my opinion. Especially if you're a fan of shimmers. Zoya got it right with these! 

Where To Buy: The entire Ornate Collection is currently available and the full set retails for $48 and separately they are $8 each. To purchase or to learn more visit http://zoya.com.

Product(s) in this post were purchased by me. 

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Zoya Limited Edition "Gilty Pleasures" Gift Set with 18K Solid Gold Fleck Nail Polish | Reveiw + Swatches

A few weeks ago Zoya introduced their limited edition holiday "Gilty Pleasures" gift set which features an 18k gold fleck polish made of real gold and accompanied with two additional black and white polishes. These sets were only available for pre-order and sold out quickly! So is it worth the hype? Check out pics and my thoughts below.

Zoya 18k Real Gold Top Coat

Zoya 18k Real Gold Top Coat

paired with Raven

 Zoya 18k Real Gold Top Coat

paired with Purity

Glow: I think the allure alone of having a real 18k gold polish was enough to have me thinking that I absolutely needed this lol! The gold fleck is beautiful and I like the packaging the set came in (not pictured). I also like that Zoya packaged these as a set instead of just the polish alone.

Glare: I have to be honest I was a bit unimpressed by my first application of the fleck especially over the white polish. It goes on pretty sparse and you need a good 2-3 coats just to get a decent amount of coverage and effect. The fleck just looks best over darker shades in my opinion. 

Would I Recommend It? Ehhh...There are so many other brands offering gold fleck polish now and from what I've seen they pretty much all look the same. I think Zoya had the best deal since it came with two additional shades because it's a little hard justifying paying $30 for a single polish. Whether you absolutely need this polish or not is a matter of preference and opinion, my verdict is no. It's pretty but it's not a must-have in my opinion. I was actually more impressed with Zoya's Ornate Collection which I will review later this week.  So bottom line, if you're one of those people who are intrigued by limited edition items then I say go for it!

Where To Buy: Unfortunately these are completely sold out. But as I mentioned plenty of other brands have their own versions of 18k gold fleck polish. OPI has a 007 gold flake which I've seen swatches of online and a few people say they've been able to purchase it locally but an official release date hasn't been set as of yet that I know of. Sephora also has one by OPI which I believe is a part of their permanent collection. And most recently I've seen one by Jessica which is a brand I've never really heard of but hey like I mentioned everyone seems to have their own version of it so fortunately you should be able to snag one from somewhere. They all seem to be retailing for the same price which is $30.

What are your thoughts? Will you be purchasing a gold fleck polish?

Product(s) in this post were purchased by me. 

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Girls With Curls: Target Beauty Offers a Range of Natural Hair Products To Nurture Your Luscious Locks!

I love seeing how the natural hair trend has really taken off within the past couple of years; and what I love more than that is seeing retailers like Target offer a wide selection of natural hair specific products to choose from at affordable prices. I'm always excited about trying new products to determine what will work best with my hair type. 

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to visit my local Target and pick a few items to experiment with. At first glance it's almost overwhelming seeing all of the products, they literally have an entire aisle full of natural hair goodies. After narrowing down my options I decided to go with styling products from the brands Kinky-Curly, Curls, and Shea Radiance. Check out my detailed review below to find out how each product handled my curls! 

Kinky-Curly: I've actually tried a variety of products from the Kinky-Curly brand before so I already knew that their Knot Today Natural Leave-In Detangler is nothing short of amazing! Anyone with curly hair knows that a good detangler is an absolute must-have. What I like most about this detangler is that it doubles as a leave-in conditioner. After one application I was able to comb through my curls with ease and with very minimum hair shed. I have naturally oily hair so I'm always worried about product overload weighing it down but thankfully this leave-in is very lightweight which makes it easy to use with a combination of other products.

Curls: I love having definition with my curls which is why I'm a fan of products that promote it. Curl gel-Les'c by Curls is a curl enhancing frizz fighting solution formulated for all curly hair textures. The formula is a lightweight gel which promises to banish frizz and hold curls in place. After washing and detangling my hair I applied the product throughout my damp hair in sections from root to end then allowed it to dry naturally throughout the day. On first impressions the gel has sort of a strong natural-organic scent to it which I was kinda taken aback by but fortunately it doesn't linger once the gel sets in. Once my hair dried my curls weren't defined as I'm used to but they were soft and frizz free! Which is a huge plus for me because some gels have the tendency to leave your hair crunchy and flaky, I didn't experience either with this.

Shea Radiance: I'm starting to notice a pattern with my hair when it comes to creams and leave-in conditioners. My curls seem to love them. Shea Radiance's Maximum Curl Defining Cream is a leave-in conditioner that is formulated to nourish, moisturize and strengthen the hair all while promoting long lasting curls. The cream has a consistency of lotion and is very lightweight. I like the smell, it has sort of a fresh lemony scent which is soft and not overbearing. I tried this product on a wash & go style as well and really like it. My curls were soft and fluffy and easy to manage throughout the day. I can definitely see this becoming a staple in my regimen  ^_^

Luscious locks to Fall for - Create your look at

http://www.target.com/c/health-beauty/-/N-5xu1n

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Target via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of my own and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Target. 

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OCC Heroine Lip Tars | Lydia x Black Dahlia | Swatches + Review

Ok so I'm sorta late....ok, REALLY late on the OCC train but I've finally given in. I've heard so many great things about lip tars over the past year or so and I've been wanting to try them forever. If you're not familiar with OCC, the acronym stands for Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. They offer a variety of products ranging from eye-shadows, foundations and nail polish but they are most popularly known for their lip tars. Lip tars are like an even medium between lipstick and lipgloss. The formula is liquid and shiny like lipgloss but has pigmentation of lipstick. I'd actually say that they are better than lipstick and gloss because they have such a rich and captivating formula.  

OCC has grown so much as a company and most recently Sephora has started carrying the brand. Last month OCC launched their Heroine Collection for Fall 2012 which features 6 new lip tars.  There were two in particular that caught my eye which are Lydia and Black Dahlia. Check out photos and my full review below. 

OCC Lip Tar 

Lydia

 OCC Lip Tar

Black Dahlia

Glow: I'll start with the colors. Lydia is described as a darkroom plum but to me it's more reminiscent of a mauve pink. I'm not normally into pinks but I'm surprised at how much I like this shade. I think it's very wearable and universally flattering to most skin-tones. It sort of reminds me of MAC's 'Up The Amp" which I have but haven't tried yet, I will compare them in a later post. Black Dahlia is definitely my favorite of the two. It's described as a blackened red and has a touch of a burgundy tone to it. It's such a sultry deep red perfect for a night out ;-) The formula of the lip tars is amazing! They are super pigmented and rich so a little goes a long way. I literally only used two small dots of product for each application. You absolutely have to apply these with a lip brush (which now comes with them) They go on super smooth, they don't crease and they don't dry your lips out.

Glare: I honestly had no issues with these. The only thing that I did notice is that with Black Dahlia it stained my lips which lasted through the following day. I don't know if that was just from the intensity of that particular shade or if it's with all of their darker shades however it's not a real issue for me. 

Would I Recommend It? I absolutely would! I've fallen in love and I look forward to trying more shades. Just keep in mind that lip tars are extremely pigmented so if you are one of those people who are afraid of color then these are definitely not for you. 

Where To Buy: These shades and all OCC Lip Tars retail for $16 each and are available online at Sephora and www.occmakeup.com. Black Dahlia is currently sold out on Sephora but I was able to order both of these from OCC's site so make sure you check both sites for availability.

Have you tried lip tars or do you plan on trying them? What are your thoughts?

Product(s) in this post were purchased by me. 

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