Open Box: Coastal Scents [Pic Heavy!!]

Suuuuuper excited when I got out of class today and my boyfriend messaged me saying my massive box of makeup got here!

So I rushed back and found a bright hot pink box marked "FRAGILE" sitting on the kitchen counter!

This is an open box post; I will be showing you the products that I ordered and my initial thought of them!

Box was SUPER cute, and the colour was a gorgeous shade of hot pink! 

The products were packaged very neatly, and very professional looking. Nothing was damaged during shipping; quality of packaging is quite high.

First, it's the 22 piece brush set. This set comes complete with almost every brush you'll need to finish a full face look. The brushes are a mixture of natural hair brush and synthetic fibre brushes. I was extremely surprised by how absolutely SOFT these brushes are. I have previously ordered Coastal Scents brushes, but they were nowhere NEAR as good as these ones! Really excited to try them out. 

The smaller individual items came really nicely wrapped up in Coastal Scent's tissue paper which I thought was very pretty. I had also ordered some individual brushes that were not a part of the 22 piece brush set, but are useful when I'm working with clients. Alongside, I've also picked out their shadow primer, gel liner (WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE WONDERFUL COLOURS THAT THEY USED TO HAVE~?!?) and some hotpots.

The individual brushes are again very very soft, they're made to be really good quality and are very professional looking! These brushes have silver ferrules rather than black ones that the 22 piece brushes have and they look more or less like MAC brushes. The white blending brush is especially similar to the MAC 217 brush. 

The Coastal Scents hotpots are their version of the refillable eyeshadow pans. They are the exact same sizes as the MAC single refillable eyeshadows and they will fit in the MAC Pro eyeshadow palettes. I do personally like Coastal Scents eyeshadows, but more for the neutral colours. They give a fairly good colour payoff but they're not incredibly pigmented as compared to MAC or MUFE...(although there are certain colours in the Coastal Scents selection that have amazing pigmentation as well; I've chosen some bright colours to try this time and I hope they work well!) They're a little bit less creamier than the MAC eyeshadows, but again it depends on the colour that you've chosen and the formula that they've used to make the product. Coastal Scents also makes an empty MAGNETIZED 28 slot eyeshadow palette, and it's retailed for approximately $10; a very good option if you're looking for affordable palettes to store your MAC or Coastal Scents eyeshadows in.

I decided that I wanted to try their eyeshadow primer, and I actually did dab a bit of this on the back of my hand when I opened the package...it felt a little bit oily and runny, and what it did was when I tried to layer an eyeshadow over it, it did make the pigmentation more intense, but it's more like...powder-sticking-to-liquid-sticky-to-the-touch kind of intense and not a dry intense payoff from the shadows. I don't want to be too judgemental on this product before I fully put it to the test yet, but I'll let you all know later. 

Last but not least, I picked up the the 28 neutral palette. I do a lot of pageants and bridal work, so most of my clients are looking more for emphasizing and changing the contouring of their features instead of colour. Since the pigmentation is a medium payoff, that works out well in terms of neutral colours; it makes it buildable and very blendable, and more importantly it give a subtle and meticulous wash of colour instead of intense pigmentation. I've yet to try this palette out, but I have high hopes of it, and it should fit really nicely for the needs of most of my clients. 

Other things that I wanted to mention:

I am NOT affiliated with Coastal Scents in anyway. I have purchased every single item with my own money, and I was not sponsored or paid to advertise for Coastal Scents. This is NOT an advertisement! I am giving my honest opinion and feedback about these products and the reviews are written 100% in my own words!

Shipping was fairly quick. I live in Toronto, these were shipped through Florida. I got them in the mail in about less than a week which was really good considering Toronto was sort of hit with Sandy as well. I did get charged custom fees, which I've never had in the past couple of times that I've ordered from Coastal Scents, but it's not really an issue to deal with the company. Again, nothing was damaged in the mail, all of my products were in perfect condition! If you have any questions you're more than welcomed to leave me either a comment, or to email me directly. 

Thanks for reading guys!

Happy Weekend~

Helen.

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Ebay False Lashes -- Trial and Review [Text Heavy]

Hello everyone,

It's been a while! I've been doing some personal reconstructing in the past while, and so I apologize for the lack of my presence on planet blogger!

Today I wanted to talk to all of you about buying false lashes on Ebay, and to give you a first impression/initial review of these babies!

If you live in North America, it is often very difficult to get good false eyelashes for a more affordable price compared to someone in Asia let's say! In Toronto for example, you could either go to Pacific Mall and pay at least SIX TIMES the actual price for the lashes, or you can buy off of private dealers that sell them for no less than THREE TIMES the actual prices! Sadly, these are more or less the most convenient ways of getting your hands on these wonderful makeup tools, and unfortunately, for a freelance makeup artist like myself who constantly need to replenish these products, the high prices can get very frusting and expensive on the business!

So recently, when I was ordering disposable mascara wands off of Ebay, I thought to myself "why have I never considered ordering lashes off of Ebay?"

And the truth is, I never did because for the longest time, Ebay products were kind of "sketchy" (for the lack of a better word choice) to consumers, and this is especially true when it comes to health and beauty related product that could make you sick!

But, curious to explore for more options, I decided to search up "false eyelashes," and BOY was I happy that I did!!

To reduce the risk of ending up with an irresponsible or scam seller, I stayed with the Top Seller picks that Ebay recommended and came across a seller named "butterflybeauty168" and below is the link to his/her store:

http://stores.ebay.ca/butterflybeautytoworldwide

This seller had TONES of beauty products in her store including, nail art products, brushes, makeup, lashes etc. I couldn't tell you exactly about the quality of the other products, but when I received the lashes in the mail today I was VERY SURPRISED!

Here's a snapshot of the lashes:

So below, I've broken down the whole experience in a couple different categories for you all to read.

SELECTION:
This seller had a HUGE variety of lashes to choose from! All different makes, styles and brands.

PRICING:
I used to purchase my lashes from factory distributors whenever I got the chance to go to China. However that was very burdensome, because I would have to lug about 20 packs of lashes in my luggage, and not to mention I would have to bend over infront of the dealer's little section in almost a flea market kind of setting, for hours to pick out the lashes that I wanted!! A little off topic but the point being, those where the cheapest prices that you'd be able to get for good quality lashes, and I must say that I was really satisfied for the similarity in pricing between this seller and the pricing that I would've received had I bought lashes directly from China.

SHIPPING AND DELIVERY:
Shipping was wonderful because it was FREE!!! The seller is actually located in HongKong, but the product got to me within ONE WEEK!! and I didn't have to pay for anything extra which was AMAZING!

PACKAGING:
I wanted to say that I was taken back by how pretty one of the packaging looked (the pink one)! When I first opened the envelope, for a second I thought it was Dollywink lashes...

QUALITY:
This would be the BIG topic that everyone is waiting for!
I'd like to start off by saying, these will not be the softest or the most delicately and carefully made lashes you'll find on the market, but they ARE the best quality that you will get for the pricing if not BETTER!
The seller claims that these are hand made lashes, but I will let everyone know straight up that they are NOT. This is the somewhat controversial aspect of buying off of Ebay. If you decided that you wanted to buy these lashes for the sake of the handmade quality, then you'll feel like you got scammed the money. However, with the price that they're sold at, no one should really be expecting hand-made lashes, simply because it would not be practical to produce handmade lashes with the cost of labour and material AND shipping at the labelled price!
Some may argue that the seller lied about the product description, but from my stand point, I would not be bothered by this detail, because despite what the product description claimed, the pictures that were posted with the product listing were VERY TRUE TO THE REAL THING! 
The lashes are very sturdy (as in they are made to last and can be re-used) but they were still relatively soft! 
Would I use these on my clients? DEFINITELY YES!!

Overall, I am REALLY glad that I took the chance and ordered these from Ebay, and I definitely recommend this seller for furture purchases!

I will post below the 3 styles of lashes that I purchase and if you have any questions feel free to either leave me a comment or email me directly at: analabasterdream@gmail.com!

QQ-19:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/140874089021?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_5146wt_1220

1061A:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/280931977291?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_5325wt_1220

CRO-8:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/140813119663?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_5483wt_1220


Thank you everyone for reading, and I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Stay Warm~
Helen. 

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A little haul from The Body Shop Recently...

Just a little before X'mas, I picked up some of my regular items from The Body Shop.

Most of my body care and skin care items are actually from The Body Shop. They promote natural sources of their products, and I do believe that it makes a difference on the skin!

Fromt left to right: Blueberry Body Butter, Hemp Moisture High Balm, Original Carrot Cream, Elderflower Eye Gel, Cucumber Freshening Water and Facial Massager.

The Blueberry body butter is the only body butter that I'm willing to use. I LOVE the scent, as it's not too sweet (ie. strawberry,) or fruity (ie. Satsuma.) It's great for dry skin, and it soaks into the skin super fast without being overly greasy!

The carrot cream is one of the original products of The Body Shop when it first started. It's an AMAZING facial moisturizer. It's thick, and creamy on the skin but it's not oily or heavy at all! It's soaks into the skin SUPER fast and my skin just eats it up! I go through a jar about ever month to month and a half. It's the perfect consistency for the dry and harsh Canadian winter!

The Elderflower Eye Gel is a very simple water based gel for the eye. It helps to reduce dark circles and puffiness of the eye. I love it because it's very smooth and watery and absorbs fast on the skin! It's a thick gel so that means it's hydrates well too and I love to use this for messaging around the eye every morning and night; this will further reduce any dark circles and swelling by increasing microcirculation around the eye!

The cucumber toner is just a very simple toner to remove excess oil, dirt and makeup and to cleanse the skin further after washing. I feel like it's mild and just something good to balance out the skin before moisturizer is applied.

The facial massager is something that I'm trying out to reduce the swelling that I tend to get in the morning from fluid accumulation at night. (I sleep on very flat pillows because I sleep on my stomach, and that induces a lot of blood flow to the head and makes me very swollen in the morning.)

The Hemp Moisture High Balm is AMAZING!!! I have very bad cuticles from working with m hands all the time. I've tried MANY cuticle oils and none of them has ever worked on me. This balm melts when it's near body temperature and it's a thick oil that targets extremely dry area around the body. I put this on at night and just let it all soak in while I sleep. I sometimes even put this on at work whenever my hands are cracked and bleeding...=S but it works like MAGIC!

So that's it for tonight! Hope every has a good night!

Love,

Helen.

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Dear Foundation Diary – Estee Lauder Double Wear is ROCKIN’ IT!!!

 

 

This has been a LONNNNG postponed post….I’ve MIA for a while now…finally got to enjoy 2 weeks off from school, work and everything else…BUT I am BACK! =D

 

 

Overall:

I LOOOVE how this foundation looks on my skin!!
I currently have it in the shade Dusk, which I think is  a little bit too pink for me and a little bit too dark for me, but it looks AMAZING!!

 

I looks SO smooth and flawless on my skin, and makes it VERY even! I think the most important reason for it is that it’s very hydrating and it keeps my skin very nourished throughout the day, which also helps the foundation to stay better!

It doesn’t look cakey or heavy, and just looks very natural. The coverage is DEFINITELY a full coverage foundation…VERY easy to apply and smooth out, and very buildable! The most important thing is that a little goes a LONGGGGG way!!

 

 

7 hours after application:

The foundation after 7 hours of wear still looks very very fresh~! and it definitely is very HYDRATING since it didn’t make my skin look very dried out and appear to be rough and breaking out~

There no settling of the foundation into lines and although the coverage is beginning to being eaten away…it’s DEFINITELY still a medium coverage…(note: there was no touch up!!)

 

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What did I use??

1) Skin79 Hot Pink BB Cream as base
2) Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Dusk

NOTE:

This is AMAZING!! I got the coverage I wanted WITHOUT having to powder and layer foundations with my MAC Studio Fix Foundation!!
It didn’t make me extremely oily, and I only have to gently blot with a tissue!!

*picture taken 7 hours after application with ONE gentle blot and no touch up!*

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The Ratings~!

Staying Power – ❤❤❤❤
Coverage – ❤❤❤❤❤
Hydration – ❤❤❤❤
Price Range – ❤❤❤❤

Overall – ❤❤❤❤❤

 

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I think Estee Lauder’s Double wear is THE ONE!!!

I will soon be looking into purchasing this…perhaps at the next Estee Lauder/MAC warehouse sale~?!

 

Thanks for reading!

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FOTD and another HAUL!

Enjoy! =)

 

Estee Lauder Double Wear Review coming TONIGHT!

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Dear Foundation Diary – MAC Pro Longwear Sucks…

 

Overview:

It was a good coverage, but it was dry!! What I mean by that is that when you put it on, the instant you slide it onto your face, it feels really POWDERY and hard to blend…

This is what I wore today:

Ignore the ugly poster..I’ve had that since elementary school….>.>

From afar, the foundation gives a good balanced coverage everywhere. It’s not overly matifying which is always good, and it’s not very powdery or cakey.

Going a bit closer, you can start noticing the broken capillaries seeping through the foundation on my cheeks. Notice that under the eye and around the nose where I tend to get oily, it seems like it’s cakey and powdery.

 

   The cakey-ness is ESPECIALLY NOTICEABLE under the eyes in this one…makes it SOO apparent that I have wrinkles there…O.O However, it remains acceptably smooth everywhere else

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What I used to complete the look:

1) Skin79 Hot Pink BB Cream as a base
2) MAC Pro Long wear in NC25
3) MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation
4) lots of blush and highlighter!!

NOTE!!:
The prolong wear didn’t give this coverage!! The Studio Fix powder did!! Studio Fix powder is an AMAZING powder foundation that has probably a medium to full coverage!! I had to go over the Pro Longwear with the powder because it wasn’t covering what I wanted for it to cover!

I also used a really bright highlight which is what gives that glow, the actual foundation itself is actually QUITE matte!!!

*** These pictures were taken after 7 hours of wear, 1 blot, and no touchups. ***

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The Ratings~!

Staying power – ❤❤❤❤
hydration – ❤❤
Coverage –❤❤❤
Price – ❤❤❤❤

 

 

OVERALL –❤❤❤❤

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I don't think I'll be buying this…I'm just not stunned upon my first try…and I'm one of those very OCDed people, that if I don't like in the beginning, no matter how hard I try to like it later on…there will always be like a shadow there…-.-

Anyway…that was for my first Foundation Diary… =)

Hope you enjoyed!

 

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Confessions of a true FOUNDATION freak!!

 

I’M SICK AND TIRED OF THE FOUNDATIONS THAT I OWN!!!!!

(Revlon Colourstay – crappy formula and texture, Clinique Superbalanced Makeup – crappy coverage and texture, L’oreal True Match – crappy texture and the WRONG shade for me right now)

I’ve gotten so PALE over the winter that most of my foundations don’t fit my skin properly anymore!! (eeeek!!) Right now I’m in the range of about NC/NW20. The reason why I say NC/NW is because my fairness is also washing out my yellowness….which makes it hard because for MAC colour coding because they don’t have neutral tones!!

Since all my foundations don’t really fit me anymore, I decided that it was time to CLEAN EVERYTHING OUT and bring some new things in!! As they say in Chinese…if the old doesn’t go, the new doesn’t come!

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I’ve been foundation hunting for a while now, and let me tell you all…it is HARRRRRRRD!!!

I’m looking for a foundation that is FULL coverage (and I mean FULLLLLLLL coverage,) something that is creamy in texture, and HYDRATES my skin all day long!!! (since I’ve gone DRY combination instead of normal combination!! O.O)

I’m looking more towards the higher end of the makeup spectrum because I feel like my investment would pay off better. I figured if I get something a bit more expensive, I’d actually use it a lot as opposed to me getting something from the drugstore and letting it sit there after like 2 uses (if I know myself well enough, I’m for sure going to do that…>.>) and plus I think the department store ones are for sure better in quality!!

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My picks so far:

1) Make Up For Ever [Mat Velvet +]

 

this is definitely a FULL coverage foundation; when I swatched it on my hand, it was somewhat dry, but it’s nothing that a little moisturizing can’t fix! It covered pretty much all of the colour of my veins that was peering out from underneath the skin, and it just gave a creamy finish that I couldn’t resist trying!!

 

2) Laura Mercier [Silk Creme Foundation]

The INSTANT that I spread this on the back of my hands that I knew I was in LOOOOVE!!! This foundation is UNBLIEVABLY smooth and silky on the skin and the BEST part is that it didn’t feel DRY or powdery after it settled into the skin!! I was astonished to feel my hand really SMOOTH even with the incredible coverage that pretty much diminished EVERYTHING that was on the back of my hands!!!

 

3) Channel [Pro Lumiere Foundation]

Another foundation that I went head over heels for!!! When this was applied to the back of my hand I actually did a chocking little cry and my voice cracked all over…this made Sam and the counter lady LOL…but it was astonishing!!! The formula felt SOOO hydrating on the back of my hand, and it was a very unusual texture for a foundation…usually for foundations when you spread it out, you can feel the powderiness of the foundation no matter how creamy the foundation really is; Pro Lumiere, when I was spreading it out on my hand, I did NOT feel that at ALL!! It worked basically like a moisturizer, BUT with a medium to full coverage!!! O.O It certain wasn’t as full as Laura Mercier or the MUFE…but defintiely buildable!!

 

4) Estee Lauder [Double Wear Foundation]

This one claims to be a full coverage foundation, but I think it’s probably a medium to full buildable coverage. I originally wanted to try the Double Wear Maximum Coverage BUT AS ALWAYS IT WASN’T AVAILABLE IN CANADA!!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! The texture of this is REALLY light and smooth on the skin however, and I think it’s very hydrating as well…

 

5) MAC [Pro Long Wear Foundation]

 

The coverage is pretty full from swatching on the back of my hand, but as ALWAYS, this is the typical MAC formula and it’s just very DRY…I wanted something from MAC really, because I LOOOOVE their powder foundation…but it seems their liquid foundation just is never good for drier skins!!! I wanted to try the Face and Body foundation but that one is very sheer and definitely doesn’t have the coverage that I need.

 

6) Lancome [Teint Miracle Foundation]

While the texture feels very liquidy and light and smooth, I have a feeling that it’s not going to be able to provide me with the kind of coverage that I’m looking for! Plus, I’ve noticed that there was a little shimmer in the foundation and I absolutely HATE shimmer in foundations!! So I’m going to see how this one goes…O.O

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I’ve gotten samples of ALL of these foundations that I want to try, and will be testing them out in the next little while to see which one I like the most!

I have a feeling though…that I will end up buying the Laura Mercier and the Channel one!! O.O and perhaps even the Estee Lauder Foundation…..(EEEEK I NEED A JOB ASAP!! T.T)

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I’ll also bee keeping a “Foundation Diary” series, where I will upload what the foundation looks like on my skin, and the swatches etc. and compile a list of review and pros and cons…

Hopefully that will be helpful to everyone one day….>.>

 

Anyway, that’s all that I have to blab about..@.@

Thanks all for reading! =D

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MAC Haul?? MAC HAUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHOA~~~~

It’s been WAYYYYY too long since I wrote up a blog post…I’ve just been CRAZY busy lately with midterms and stuff…><

BUUUUUUT~~ I think I’ve got a good one today!!

The past weekend was the Estee Lauder and Companies’ Warehouse Sale!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOT!!!

In case you’re not aware of this:

MAC is a part of Estee Lauder and company, alongside Clinique, Bobbie Brown and a couple of other brands.

As far as I know, these warehouses only take place in Toronto (I could be COMPLETELY wrong about this, so correct me if I am =) ) This is ONE advantage of living in Toronto, since we get these sales every THREE months!

Items are usually LIMITED EDITION things that you cannot find on the market anymore, and they are about 40% off of the original price…(they used to be CHEAPER than that…but the sales have been so hyped up that they inflated the prices..T.T)

These warehouse sales are by invitation only…now, Estee Lauder company policy is that the tickets are not for sale…but there are TONES of people that sell them online, and you can usually find them for around 15 bucks.

 

Anyhooooo~

 

I shall upload my picture:

(Click to Enlarge)

I know, It’s a bit crazy…but I’ve also gotten some things for my friends….So there’s a breakdown of what I got and prices:

*RED = sale price; BLACK = normal price

1) MAC Fix+ in LAVENDAR!!! ($12CAD/$22.50CAD)------I am SOOO glad that these were available because they are extremely difficult to find

2) Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil Regular Size ($25CAD/$39CAD)

3) Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil Mini Size ($4CAD/i don’t think they’re usually available)

4) Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex ($40CAD/$49.50)

5) Mineralize SPF15 Foundation/Loose ($basically close to just $1CAD….O.O/$35.50CAD) ----I must explain, these came in like a set of items in a charity bag that was 5 bucks each…it included one of this, and BOY BAIT…and also a set of lashes and a BLUE lipmix…O.O

6) Hyper Real Pressed Powder ($15CAD/$25.50CAD) ---- i THINK these are now called super blendable~? O.O not sure…that was the name that was written at the warehouse although not on the box

7) Refillable Blush in Clove ($4CAD/$20CAD)

8) Lashes - ($4CAD/$17CAD)

9) Single Eyeshadows ($12CAD/$17.50CAD)

10) All lippies were ($10CAD/$17.50CAD) ------- BOY BAIT was in the charity bag…it costed close to basically NOTHING….O.O

11) All glosses were also ($10CAD/$17.50 for regular lipglasses, and $22 for creamsheen glasses which is what boy bait is…O.O)

12) Select Cover Up Concealer ($9CAD/$20CAD)

 

YEP…so that’s it! I’m too afraid to say how much I spent….I have nightmares of how broke I am…>.>

The prices are really going up…O.O it used to be a MUCH MUCH better deal than this….BUTTTT if you are in Toronto, I still think it’s worth it to go and check some things out..especially the discontinued and limited edition things!!!! This is probably like the ONLY place to find them other than OCCs in the states….but OCCs are still a bit more expensive than this I think….

Hope you all enjoyed this post!

Thanks for reading! ^^

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MAC Spring 2011 Collections!!! Sneak Peak~?!

My FAAAAAAVOURITE Youtube Guru just did a post on her blog on the collections that MAC is going to put out in the spring of 2011!!

Everyone should go and visit her blog for complete details”

 

Tao’s Makeup:

http://iamgrape1119.blogspot.com/2011/02/mac-spring-2011-update.html

 

There are some products that I’m really looking forward to!!

1) from the Jeanius Collection (the patterning on the E/S are SOOOOO CUUUUTE!!!><): Powdered Blush in “Pink cult” [colour on left]

 

 

2) from the Cremeblend Blush collection: Blush in “Something Special” [colour on left]

 

 

3) from the Quite Cute collection: Lipglasses in “I <3 U” and “Fashion Fanatic” [2nd and 4th colour from left]

and last but not least the Lightfully Bright collection (which is already out online): lipglass in “Astro Cool” [colour on bottom]

I’ve already gotten a lipglass from the Wonder Woman collection in Emancipation, which I will be doing a full post on later, but I think I will be returning the lipglass because I found an almost perfect dupe that I never knew I had…xD

Anyway~ Go check out Tao’s blog – she is absolutely AMAZING!! =D

p.s. I just need to get this out there: I think the new Viva Glam Gaga 2 looks….well…really really bad!!! I TOTALLY THINK they should restore the old Viva Glam Gaga and not to mention CYNDI!!!!!! eeek!! O.O

There are many many products that are missing in her post, but you can go to Temptalia.com for more info on the collections and releases…..All pictures in this post are taken from Tao’s Makeup

Thanks for reading!

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