Milani Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss in Mauve Fetish and Ravish Raspberry Review

     Hey lovelies hope every one is well! I have been on an eyeshadow palette craze, so I thought I post a review about lipgloss. Milani Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss that is. I am pretty sure you heard of the brand Milani cosmetics because it is almost in every drugstore. I have heard people say that Milani is high end drug store brand. What ever the case maybe I am sure as a beauty lover like me you will fall under Milani cosmetic's spell. Hope you enjoy this review! :)

Milani Cosmetics Brilliant Shine Lipgloss retails at $4.99. The lipgloss is suppose be long lasting, giving the lips a silky feel and great color payoff. They also come in two finishes, cream and shimmer.

Photos/Swatches

Milani brilliant lip gloss in Mauve Fetish is a mauve pink color. This color is perfect for every day wear. It is the perfect pink to wear all year round especially if you are transitioning into the fall months.

Milani Brilliant Shine Lipgloss in Ravish Raspberry- is the perfect berry lipgloss. I love how opaque it is and is also a nice color to wear all year round especially in the spring and summer months.

Over All, I love the Milani Brilliant Shine Lipgloss. It gives the lips a nice shine, the colors are  opaque and they smell like vanilla. They are thick in texture and feel nice on the lips, but not sticky like other lip glosses. It is long lasting as long as you do not eat or drink anything. I feel once you start to eat the color comes off rather quickly. That doesn't bother me because I will just reapply. When the color fades it still leaves the lips moist, but with a tacky feel. I think the quality of the packaging is great and I love the gold top. I think the Milani Brilliant Shine Lip Glosses are very affordable and great to add to your lip gloss collection. I will be purchasing some more colors.

Hope you enjoyed the review!

Do you own any Milani Brilliant Shine Lip Glosses? Leave a comment below.

See you in my next blog post lovelies!

Maryam ox

*Products purchased by me*

Tarte Bon Voyage Collector's Set and Travel Bag Review, Photos and Swatches

     Hey lovelies! Hope you are all doing well and are keeping warm. Today I am excited to be reviewing the Tarte Bon Voyage Collector's Set and Travel Bag. If you are looking for last minute gifts that is affordable then this might be what you are looking for.  Enjoy the review and photos! 

Tarte Bon Voyage Collector's Set and Travel Bag retails for $59.00($423.00 value). It is a beautiful bag inspired by vintage Parisian  glamour and contains limited edition items as well as oversized beauty items for the eyes, lips and face.  It is formulated without parabans and phthalates.

The set includes:

Amazonian clay eyeshadow palette that contains 20 amazonian clay eyeshadows.

Deluxe Lights, Camera , Lashes Mascara 4n1 mascara.

Limited edition cheek stain in Muse

LipSurgence lip tint in Romantic

LipSurgence lipgloss in Visionary.

Deluxe maracuja oil.

Deluxe smooth operator Amazonian clay finishing powder

Limited edition travel bag

Photos:

The packaging is so pretty! Tarte never disappoints with their packaging. 

Beautiful Parisian Travel Bag. The gold and purple colors are beautiful together. Nice and classy.

I love how the Tarte Amazonian eyeshadowpalette has its own pouch.

The colors are gorgeous, however there are some that are very similar.

Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder- Great for oily skin, not ideal for dry skin.

Tarte  Cheek Stain in Muse-I think the cheek stain is nice, however the color really doesn't show much on my skin tone. It has a nice, smooth texture and is not oily.

 LipSurgence lipgloss in Visionary which is a peachy color. It give a nice sheer tint to the lips and is not sticky.

LipSurgence liptint in Romantic- which is a peachy coral color. It feels nice and moisturizing on the lips and has nice color payoff.

Both these lip products can be paired together.

Deluxe light, camera, lashes 4 n 1 mascara- give nice volume to the lashes with out clumping your lashes. The brush has nice stiff bristles that comb your lashes giving them a volume and length.

Swatches!

The eyeshadows have great pigmentation, but I find tarte's eyeshadows to be dry when swatched.  However, this doesn't affect the pigmentation.

Up close and personal with the pretty eyeshadows. View from different angles.

Review/thoughts

OverAll, I think the Tarte Bon Voyage Collector's Set and travel bag is a steal. You get so much for just $59.00 when all the products together are valued at $423.00 If you looking for last a minute gift this will sure to please any makeup lover.

The set comes with a beautiful Parisian travel bag that you can take all the goodies that come in it and then some. The eyeshadows have great pigmentation and blend seemlessly with one another. I wore the shadows for about 7 hours and the colors did not fade or crease. My only complaint about the shadows is they seem a bit dry, but it doesn't affect the pigmentation. I loved the lights camera lashes 4 n 1 mascara. It gave my lashes volume, length and didn't make my lashes look clumpy. As for the lipSurgence lip tint and gloss, they are one of my favorites items in the set. I love how moisturized my lips felt and I love the peachy coral shades. I love the tarte's maracuja oil! This is the first time I have I tried a beauty oil for the face. The texture is oily, but when applied to the face the skin absorbs the oil and leaves no oily residue. It dries like a moisturizer. I will definitely look into buying the bigger bottle because it is doing wonders for my dry skin. The tarte cheek stain in the shade Muse is a first try for me. I think the texture is nice and it smells nice too. However, the shade of the cheek stain doesn't really show on my cheeks. I am a bit sad because I like the whole cheek stain concept. If you have oily skin you will love the tarte smooth operator clay finishing powder because it absorbs the oil in your skin. If you have dry skin like me, then you can do without this in your makeup routine. I tend to go with dewy foundations because it makes my skin looks moist, glowy and youthful. When I applied the finishing powder it mattified my foundation and my face felt dry.

I am very happy that I purchased the Tarte Bon Voyage Collector's Set and Travel Bag. I couldn't pass up the cute packaging and there were products like the maracuja oil that I always wanted to try. You get so much for the affordable price and this makes a great gift for a makeup lover or for yourself :)

You can still purchase this at Sephora. Hurry because the Tart Bon Voyage Collector's Set and Travel Bag is limited edition.

Hope you enjoyed my review and see you lovelies in my next blog post!

Be safe every one!

Maryam ox

*Products were purchased by me*

Hyaluronic Acid Serum +Vitamin C Facial Toner Review

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     Hey lovelies! Hope everyone is doing well. Today I will be reviewing two skin care products and they are called  Hyaluronic Acid Serum and Vitamin C Facial Toner by Insta Natural. I was excited to try these since I never tried a hyaluronic serum or vitamin c facial toner before. If you have never tried any of these items then scroll down for my review and experience using both products. Enjoy!

About the Brand

Insta Natural is a leading online and global distributor which are inspired by natural beauty products and cosmetics. They are top sellers on amazon can be found in leading spas, salons, aesthetic centers in the US and in UAE, UK, and coming soon to Canada.  They are always looking for natural and organic ingredients from around the world to bring  the best products. 

Hyaluronic Acid Serum retails at $16.45(2 fl.oz). It contains key ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, green tea, vitamin c, Jojoba oil, witch hazel, vitamin E and other antioxidants. Made of natural and organic ingredients, contains no harsh chemicals, parabens, fragrances, additives and alcohol.

Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid Serum :

Improves skin texture and brightness with intense moisture and balance
Reduces appearances of dark circles and  puffiness
Diminishes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
Provides instant hydration for smoother, softer skin
Helps you achieve an overall vibrant, healthy complexion

Vitamin C Facial Toner retails at $17.49(4fl oz). It contains key ingredients such as Vitamin C, Witch Hazel, Msm, and Tea Tree Essential Oil. Suitable for all skin types.

Benefits of Vitamin C Facial Toner by Insta Natural :

Cleans and purifies skin 

Provides Anti-Aging Benefits 

 Shrinks appearance of pores 

Removes excess oil and dead skin cells 

 Restores balance to natural pH levels 

Helps protect your skin against impurities 

Gives you instant refreshment 

 Preps skin for other applications


Photos:

Review/Experience

I have used these products for about two weeks to see how it would improve my skin. Over all, I love what The Hyaluronic Serum and the Vitamin C Toner have done for my skin.  According to the products directions, it said to use the toner first and then the serum so that the serum and moisturizers are better absorbed into the skin. That is how I used it. First I sprayed the Vitamin C Toner all over my face. I let is dry up, but if you feel that  too much product is on  your face you  can always pat with cotton. I love how refreshing it felt on my face. It felt wonderful and the citrus smell was also very nice. As it was starting to dry, I felt my face tighten up fast. It didn't irritate my sensitive skin which I was happy about because I love this product so much. Afterwards, I applied a small amount of the Hyaluronic Acid Serum all over my face and waited till it dried up. It felt so invigorating on the skin and made my skin feel so soft and moisturized. I used these two products together in the morning on cleansed skin and at night after I cleansed my face.

I noticed results with in a week. It did wonders to my complexion. It smoothed out my face and made my pores less visible and the little fine lines of my face seem to fade as well.  It looked as if my face had foundation on, but it was just the way these two products used together made my skin look. My skin looked more youthful, radiant and even. When I did apply foundation on my face,  my pores and fine lines looked less visible than before and made foundation look flawless. Not only did my face look more radiant, it was more soft and smoother. My mother thought I was expecting because she said my skin was glowing. :) I told her I was trying out great new skin care products.

I highly recommend the Hyaluronic Acid Serum and the Vitamin C Facial Toner by Insta Natural. I was happy to be introduced to new skin care products that really helped my skin look hydrated, radiant, even, youthful and smooth. The Hyaluronic Acid Serum brought hydration and moisture to my face and gave it a more youthful complexion as well as making my fine lines less visible. The Vitamin C Toner helped shrink down my pores and is such the great pick me up for the skin through out the day which made my skin feel more clean. I love these products and again I highly recommend them.

You can find the Hyaluroninc Acid Serum here  and the Vitamin C Facial Toner here. Look for more amazing products from Insta Natural at http://instanatural.com/.

Hope you enjoyed my blog post lovelies !

Maryam ox.

Tarte Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette Photos, Swatches, and Review

     Hey lovelies! Hope everyone is doing well. Winter isn't even upon us yet and already makeup companies have makeup spring collections in the works or have already made them and  are ready for the spring of 2015. I was sent an email from tarte's website about a month ago, that they were going to sell their Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette for their new spring palette of 2015 and that it would be on sale for 5 days or as long as supplies last and then sell it to the public on Jan 2015. Of course I purchased it with out hesitation. I missed out on their matte palette last year because I thought the colors would not show up on my skin tone and the colors didn't appeal to me. The Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette however, looked beautiful and I knew this was a matte palette that I did not want to miss.


Tartlette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette retail for $44.00(0.053oz) and contains twelve matte shadows that are warm and cool tone colors. They are formulated without parabens, phthalates, mineral oil, sodium and gluten.

Photos

The packaging is really nice. I love the gold lettering against the ombre purple background. 

The mirror is full size and does not flop down.

The eyeshadows are a bit smaller than usual. I love that the colors are printed on the palette. 

Up close and personal shot of the pretty colors. :)

Swatch Time!

The color dreamer and multi-tasker are very similar and I think they could have done without one of those shades and replaced it with a more red toned brown.

Texture: Is a little on the dry side.

Pigmentation:The eyeshadows has great pigmentation considering that the shadows are on the dry side.

Blendability:The colors blend very well together.

Longevity: I wore the shadows for 7 hours before I notice a bit of fading, however it did not crease.

Over All, I think the Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette is one of the neutral matte eyeshadow palettes to add to your collection. I also think is will be a popular palette for spring of 2015. The shadows have your typical matte browns from light to dark. Also, the Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow Palette  has both warm and cool tones colors which makes this neutral palette versatile in creating day and night time looks. My only complaint about this eyeshadows is the texture.  I felt the shadows were a bit dry, but not chalky. This palette would have been a perfect 10 if the shadows were a tad more velvety. However, it does not affect the great pigmentation of these matte shadows. The colors really blend well with one another which I think is also an important characteristic eyeshadows should have. Tarte you did a great job on this palette!  

If you are looking for a great all matte palette than the Tartlette Amazonian Clay Matte Eyeshadow might just be what you are looking for. The palette will be available to the public on Jan 2015. However, you can purchase this palette online at Sephora if you are a VIB member.

Hope you enjoyed my this review and see you in my next blog post.

Maryam ox :)

   

Announcement of the Winner for the Old Factory Candles Gift Set!

     Hey lovelies! The giveaway for the Old Factory Candles Gift Set is now over. Happy to see so many enter and now time to announce the winner!!!








          a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Holly! :)

*If the person does not respond to my email within 48 hours I will again pick randomly another winner.*

Thanks to everyone for participating! Have a great day!

Maryamox 

Tarte Pin Up Girl Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush Palette Photos, Review and Swatches

Hey everyone! Today I am going to be showing you some photos and swatches of the Tarte Pin Up Girl Blush Palette as well as a review. I missed out on tarte's blush palette called In The Cuff last year, so I had to get this one. I have heard so much great things about tarte's blushes that I wanted to expand my tarte blush collection. I have another tarte blush and I love it! Hope you enjoy this blog post! 

Tarte Pin Up Girl Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush Palette retails for $42.00(0.15oz each). The palette contains five brand new Amazonian clay infused blushes and two wearable hair pins.

Pros:

Affordable

Pigmentation

Quality

Travel Friendly

formulated without Parabens and Phthalates

Cons:

Mirror flops down

The packaging is simply too cute! I love how they included two usable hair pins decorated in diamond and pearls. It dresses up the clutch.

The down side is the mirror flops down.

I love the color selection and looks like it compliments every skin tone.

Ahhh the colors are beautiful!

    Swatches!!

Breathless- is a mauvey pink color that  adds just the right amount of flush to the cheeks.

Embraced- is a pink blush with a little bit of sparkle.

Whimsy- is a soft barbie pink.

Bashful- is a rosy peachy  color blush.

Irreplaceable is a pink blush with a slight red undertone. This one you have to apply with a light hand because it is very pigmented.

This palette has more pink shades than last years palette judging from the pictures online.

Over All, I really love the Tarte Pin Up Girl Amazonian 12 hour Blush Palette. The quality and pigmentation is great and stays on the cheeks for a long time. It also give a nice color to your cheeks that is not overpowering and the colors in this palette compliments almost every skin tone. I think the palette is pretty affordable considering each of Tarte's blushes retail for about $26.00 each.

The packaging is really cute and I love how the decorated hair pins dressed up the palette. This palette is also travel friendly because of its sleek design.  

Unfortunately, the palette is sold out. However, you can find Tarte Pin Up Girl Amazonian 12 hour  Blush Palette on Sephora.

Hope you enjoyed my review and see you in my next blog post!

Maryam ox 

P.s Don't forget to enter my giveaway on Old Factory Candles Gift Set. Giveaway ends Nov 24th 12am Eastern Standard time. You can enter here.

*Product was purchased by me*

Beautify Your Nails with Julep's Winterizing Nails Tutorial + My Routine Manicure Tutorial

     Hey guys! Usually I blog about beauty reviews, but today I want to bring you beauty tips from Julep on how to winterize your nails. If you do not know who Julep is, they are a beauty company known for their popular nail polishes and the Julep Maven Subscription Box.
   
     When the colder temperature hits, so does the dry air which can take the moisture out from our hair, skin and even nails. Chances are if you have dry hands you will have dry cuticles and can make the nails look dull.  To find out how to keep your nails in tip top shape during the winter months, then scroll down and enjoy Juleps tutorial on how to winterize your nails as well as my routine manicure tutorial. :)

Photo Provided by Julep

Winter and cold weather is quickly approaching and it is important to maintain moisture to our skin, hair and nails. During these cold months, the cold  dry air takes the  moisture from our hands and nails which is one of the  area that is always exposed. We use our hands for everything and sometimes we forget to take care of them.

This tutorial from Julep helps winterize your nails and keep them looking moisturized and healthy during the winter months. I will have to add the Oxygen Nail Treatment to my nail routine in the winter. Since I have thin nails this will help them become strong. Super excited to try that nail treatment out.

My Routine Manicure Tutorial

When it comes to my own nail care, there is one key factor. Moisturize! Moisturize! Moisturize! Chances are if your hands are dry so are your cuticles. When your cuticles are dry they can look flaky. That is not good. I alway carry with me a small hand cream in my purse when I am out and about. 

Since I am a mom, I am constantly washing dishes and that can also dry out your hands. After every wash I put on cream to keep my hands nice and moisturized.

What You Will Need

Manicure Set That includes:

 Buffer 

Cuticle pusher 

Liquid Cuticle remover

Nail Clipper

Nail Filer

Nail Conditioner

Cuticle Moisturizer

Your choice of nail polish

Clear Top Coat

Hand Cream

I purchased the Trim Manicure Set at Walmart for about $7.99. 

My Routine Manicure Tutorial

*Before you begin any manicure, make sure you wash your hands and make sure they are dry*

-If your set comes with a cuticle stone, make sure you wet it with warm water. Place the thin edge on the cuticle and move it gently back and forth. The dry excess cuticle will be removed with very little effort.

-Next, buff your nails using light stokes and back and forth motions.

-Smooth ridges and file your nails to the desired shape.

-Condition your nails leaving a smooth matte finish.

-Again, use the buffer to buff your nails leaving them nice and shiny. The more you buff, the shiner your nails will look. 

*Wash Your Hands*

-Apply a small amount of cuticle moisturizer to the base of the nail bed. (*beauty tip* If you do not have a cuticle moisturizer, then I like to use Johnson and Johnson Baby Oil that contains Aloe Vera And Vitamin E. )

-Massage into the cuticle and nail bed with the index finger of the opposite hand.

-Use the cuticle moisturizer as often as desired to keep the nails and cuticles looking healthy and nourished.

Again, I applied my cocoa butter hand cream and painted my nails.

Voila!

I chose the color Grey Area by Sally Hansen and used a nail polish that had gold and black specks of glitter as well as glitter chunks. I didn't just want go with the gray nails. I wanted to add  little glam and applied the glitter nail polish on top. 

You can also just paint the ring finger with the glitter polish as an accent nail and leave the rest of the nails with just the gray area color nail polish.

This is also a nice fall/winter color to wear. I was inspired by Julep's nail swatches down below. It is not the exact color, but they have dark toned colors for the winter as well.

Julep Winter Nail Swatches

Photo Provided by Julep

These swatches by Julep are the colors that are trending this winter and they are beautiful. My favorites are Sawyer and Joanne. Joanne is a gorgeous unique color to own and Sawyer has a nice copper brown that is great to wear for the fall and winter months.

You can check out Juleps huge collection of nail polishes here. They have so many beautiful colors to choose from. I can't wait to get my hands on a few nail polishes that I have on my wish list.

I hope you enjoyed some great tips from Julep and my routine manicure tutorial.

See you lovelies in my next blog post!

Maryam ox :)

Too Faced Everything Nice Set Review, Photos and Swatches

Hey guys! Hope everyone is enjoying the Autumn season. Holidays are just around the corner and with that comes so many holiday sets that beauty companies come out with. It is so hard to choose, so I thought I would try and purchase holiday sets that I missed out on last year. Last year, Too Faced Cosmetics came out with the Few of my Favorite Things Holiday Set and I didn't purchase it. This year when Too Faced  Cosmetics came out with the Everything Nice Set, I didn't want to miss out the second time around. I quickly purchased it and let's just say it is more beautiful in person. Scroll down for photos, swatches and a review. Enjoy! :)

 Too Faced Everything Nice Set retails $59.00. The Everything Nice Set comes with 20 eyeshadows ranging from mattes to shimmers to metallics. The set also comes with two blushes, one bronzer, a highlighter, one pink glitter pouch, Better Than Sex Mascara and three mini brushes.

Photos

Gotta love the packaging.

I love when makeup companies show the contents of what is inside in the back.

Too Faced Cosmetics always comes out with cute designs and packaging. 

Just look at all the goodies packed into one place! Love it! 

The eyeshadows are a nice size. Bigger than what I though it was going to be .

The pouch is a cute concept and I love all the glitter, however it would be great if the palette actually fit in the pouch. I tried every which way and it just does not fit. 

I am so happy they included one of the most raved about mascaras. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara lives up to the hype. Love it!!!! Look at the brush. It's beautiful.

The brushes to me are nice props and are pretty with the gold glitter, but I will not use these. The quality is not great. I will keep these for decor in my makeup brush holders. They are too pretty to toss away.

The packing is pretty slim considering all that is inside.

Comes with a glamour guide filled with eye looks to recreate. 

 Swatches!

First Row:

Turtle Dove- is a white color and a little on the chalky side.

Dream on- is a cream eyeshadow.

After Hours- Champagne gold color.

Fawuned of You is a khaki brown color. Great as a transition color.

Knockout is a coffee brown color.

Second Row:

Paper Rose is alight rose shimmer color.

Kindness if Free is a light rose pink shimmer.

Mauvelous is a mauvey pink color with specks of silver and pink glitter. Very pretty.

Be you is a mauve brown.

Secret Lovers is a dark bronze shade.

Row 3

Heaven is a white matte shade.

Shiny Happy is a light gold shimmer. This color is gorgeous! It also can be used as a highlight for the cheeks.

HoneyPot is a yellow gold color.

Don't Settle is a brown copper shade.

Girly is a brown with a dual chrome green  and pink colors and is also in Too Faced Pretty Rebel Palette.

Row 4

Totally Fetch is a hot pink color. This color is also in Too Faced Pretty Rebel Palette.

Live it Up is a irridescent purple. I had to pack on the color so it can match the same opaqueness as the color in the palette. Still very pretty and is buildable.

Too Glam is a teal green.

Head Over Heals is a deep blue shimmer with silver and blue specks of glitter.

Chocolate moon is a matte black with gold specks of glitter. The shade is very pigmented, so a little goes a long way. They did a good job on achieving a pigmented matte black that is not chalky. 

Blushes:

Sweet Pink is a cool toned pink color.

Papa Don't Preach is a pinky peach color and has an iridescence to it. 

    Bronzer and Highlighter

Chocolate Soleil is Too Faced famous bronzer and the best part is that it smells like chocolate!

Inner light is a pale pink shimmer. It is too pink for my skin tone and looks chalky for a cheek highlighter.

Overall, I think the Too Faced Everything Nice Palette has great eyeshadows with great pigmentation that are consistent with their other eye shadows. The eyeshadows lasted for about 6-7 hours with no signs of fading or creasing. Some colors like the purple shade called Live it Up you have to pack on to achieve the desired shade. The lighter matte shades come off as a bit chalky, but that is expected of matte light eye shadows. The shimmer shades have great pigmentation and the gold shades are so beautiful! Two of the shades called Girly an Totally Fetch are from the Pretty Rebel Palette.

     I really love the blushes and the pigmentation is really nice and is buildable. I think the blushes compliment most skin tones and it leaves a nice wash of color on the cheeks.

As for the bronzer and highlighter, I think the bronzer is nice, however the highlighter is too pink and a bit chalky.

     The Better Than Sex Mascara is amazing! I see what all the rave is about. You can forget your false lashes because all you need is this mascara. I plan on doing a full review on this gem.

     

The brushes are cute, but I wont be putting them to use. The quality is not great.

The Too Faced Pink glitter pouch is cute, but the palette does not fit. I tried every angle. I guess I will use it for a cosmetics bag.

The price point for this holiday set is great considering you are getting so much.You get 20 eyeshadows, Better Than Sex Mascara, 2 blushes, 1 bronzer, 1 highlighter, 3 mini brushes and a pink one sided glitter pouch. Whew! I think if they added an eyeliner this would be the perfect set and you would have everything you need to complete a look. Either way the Too Faced Everything Nice Set only costs $59 and you get so much for such an affordable price. I do not know how they are making a profit out of this, but thank you Too Faced Cosmetics for making this set such a steal. 

This would be great for someone who is just starting out with makeup or if you are a eyeshadow palette junkie like me, then this is a great addition to your palette collection. 

You can find the Too Faced Everything Nice Set at Sephora. Hurry before they sell out!

Hope you enjoyed this review lovelies!

P.S For those living in the US, do not forget to enter  or your chance to win the Old Factory Candles Gift Set. You can enter here. Scroll down and enter via Rafflecopter. :)

See you in my next blog post !

Maryam :) ox