Buzzworthy: Chanel Glossimer Duo Gift Set

The beginning of the holiday season happened to be a momentous time for me. On Friday, November 26, I turned a quarter century old! With 25 glamorous years and counting, I have been blessed many times over! But let's get to the beauty stuff, shall we? As a part of my present, my boyfriend picked up the Chanel Glossimer Duo I've been hinting at for months! The Chanel Holiday gift set came with a Chanel cosmetic case, a nude lipliner, sharpener, and two glossimers in Wild Rose and Muscat. Aside from this being an amazing steal of a deal, the lipgloss colors are unbeatable! One of Chanel's most popular lipglosses, Wild Rose is a perfect nude pink with slight shimmer. It is not tacky or sticky, and is it just me or does this make my lips look fuller? This warm pink is an amazing MLBB (my lips but better) shade and would highly recommend this for any lipgloss lover out there. Muscat is another nude glossimer that leans more nude than pink, unlike Wild Rose. Released as a part of Chanel's Beige Collection, this is another sophisticated lipgloss that looks beautiful on any skin tone. While this color does go on quite sheer alone, adding this on top of your favorite nude lipsticks would kick it up 100 glamorous notches (try Mac's Myth or Revlon's Soft Nude). Pictured below is my FOTD, including Chanel's gorgeous Wild Rose. This gift set is sold out on Neiman Marcus and may be hard to come by. At $51, this is a great deal!

Cyber Monday Beauty Deals

Take advantage of these beauty deals for Cyber Monday!

• NYX Cosmetics on Hautelook
• Rock & Republic and Booty Parlor on Beauty Story
• Free overnight shipping from MAC (code MACDAY)
• 30% off everything on Beauty Ticket
• 80% off Laura Gellar on Beauty.com
• Warehouse sale on Stila

Weekend Haul: Urban Decay Loose Pigment in Baked and Make Up Forever Lipstick 32

It's been a busy few days, so I apologize for the lack of updates, Honey Bees. I'm back with an amazing haul from Sephora.com. After receiving an email promoting Sephora's bonus gift with $25 purchase, I thought it would be a great idea to try out my first Makeup Forever product and snag that $5 Urban Decay Loose Pigment which happened to be on sale! The gift with purchase was a Sephora travel bag with a ton of travel sized minis to try out, including a baby Makeup Forever lipstick in 36, Lorac eye primer and roll-on Bliss perfume. They also sent me my Happy Birthday Beautiful gift!

I happen to love the Urban Decay Baked products, and Baked in Loose Pigment form is so versatile. Yes, of course, this is gorgeous as an eyeshadow, but adding this to any product gives it a sparkling golden look. Add some to red lipgloss for a wonderful holiday lip or mix it in with your favorite pink blush for a bit of extra shimmer. I picked this product up for a mere $5, and it was worth every penny. Bottom line? This is a must-have for anyone who loves a little shimmer.

The Makeup Forever  lipstick in 32 is a creamy medium pink that although wears a little dry, it is not drying. I happen to love this color which is much warmer and than Viva Glam Gaga  and a touch lighter and muted than Mac's Pink Noveau. This color looks great on warm tones like, but would also look beautiful on cooler tones as well. Wear alone for as a matte pink lip, but I like to dab on my Chanel Glossimer in Pink Pulsion for some added glam. At $19 a tube, its price tag is a little heavier than MAC's but less pricey than brands like Nars. Bottom line?  It wet my appetite for the rest of the MUFE lipsticks. I'm interested and excited to try more from Makeup Forever!

Buzzworthy: L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara

I love mascara. I love trying new mascaras, especially when they work like a dream. My current mascara and MVP is L'Oreal Voluminous Extra Collagen in Blackest Black, which I find myself always going back to after the mascara trends wear down. With its new release, I decided that since I had found former success in other L'Oreal mascaras, I wanted to give Million Lashes a try. This mascara promises to separate and volumize your lashes with its unique anti-clump, clean sweep brush. While everybody's lashes are different, I have stick straight Asian lashes and do NOT hold curl. After curling my lashes, I started at the base of the lash line, held a few seconds and wiggled my brush through my lashes. Million Lashes definitely does not hold curl but after only one coat, I did find it to separate my lashes. Throughout the day, it did not feel clumpy or hard but it did give my lashes a less-than-natural look. I also did not find it flakey at all. So while Million Lashes didn't hold my curl, it did peak my interest. L'Oreal always delivers a quality product, but I would not give up my current favorite mascara for this one. Bottom line? This anti-clump, anti-flake mascara is worth a try, but this mascara will give you more volume than it will length. 

Weekend Haul

This weekend, the mailman finally dropped off a few items I had ordered from Sephora.com. The current sale section on Sephora's website has had so many good deals, and these two items were hard for me to pass up.

The Grab-n'-Go powder brush from Sephora was orginally listed on the website retailing for $32, then was marked down to $15- a great deal! But when I had seen this brush listed in the sale section for just $7, I could not ignore it any longer. The dual ended, red bristle brush is meant to be used for powders (with the larger head) and eyeshadow (with the smaller end). Though the directions say the smaller head is meant for shadows, I think it would be perfect for blending in concealer. I've noticed very little shedding from the bristles that are very soft and seem to pick up a great amount of product. The powder application with this brush is simple and no fuss. Bottom line? An awesome find for the price. The brush is still available on Sephora.com.

I was also lucky enough to pick up an online exclusive NARS eyeshadow duo on the Sephora sale section. Wicked is a duo of light powder blue and lime yellow eyeshadows that retail at just $10 (a regularly priced NARS duo will set you back a whopping $32). The quality of NARS eyeshadows is incomparable so you can see why I could not turn this down. And did they ever deliver! Not only is pigmentation beautiful, but the colors go on and blend so smoothly. Bottom line? Grab this eyeshadow while there are still any left!

Dupe this Look: Taylor Swift

With her new album, Speak Now, dominating the charts this country cutie has a perfect look easy enough to duplicate. Taylor Swift's signature cat-eye paired with a red lip has been her go-to look lately. Not only is this look extra glamorous, but Taylor still manages to make it look so sweet! Using my NYX jumbo pencil in Black, i winged and blended a cat-eye, blending upwards towards my brow. I softened the harsh black pencil with the black shadow from my Stila Blockbuster palette. Then, I patted on the neutral shimmery colors from the same Stila palette, placing the color on the lid of my eye and underneath. I used L'oreal's liqued liner to run over the lid and applied black falsies. As for Taylor's sultry red lips, I used MAC's lipstick and lipglass in Heartless and Wicked Ways. Finish with a light dusting Rock and Repbulic's Bedroom blush and squint eyes for effect.

The Honey B's Holiday Gift Set Guide

With the Holiday season upon us, I thought I'd share with you all the best beauty steals and deals to get for your fellow beauty lover, or jot down on your own wish list! Stay tuned for more holiday gift ideas! What will you be putting on your list this year?

 

 Stila

• The Stila travel palette comes in 5 different travel girl styles (USA, Moscow, Paris, Tokyo and the yet-to-be released Fiji). Pictured left is the Tokyo palette. It includes 4 Stila eyeshadows and a convertible cream lip/cheek color. Retails at just $10!
• The Stila lipglaze set includes 8 stunning Stila lipglosses in their most popular shades. Exclusive to Sephora, you can gift the set as a whole or break it open and give one to each of your girlfriend. And it retails at just $25!

Nars

• The Nars Crazy Heart Set is a lipgloss set exclusive to Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Ave. The set includes Nars lipglosses in Easy Lover, Babe, Orgasm, Turkish Delight and Misbehave. This is definitely on my holiday wish list! While a Nars lipgloss will cost you around $26, this set is a deal at $50.
• The Nars Orgasm Lust Lip and Cheek set is a Sephora exclusive and spotlights the brand's most infamous (and universally flattering) blush. It includes a duo of Orgasm blush and Laguna bronzer and a mini Super Orgasm lipgloss. Pick it up at Sephora for a mere $30.

Chanel

• The Chanel Deux Levres Scintillantes set is an amazing gift set from Chanel that include two full sizes of lipglosses Muscat and Wild Rose. It also comes with a lip liner in Nude and a cute beauty travel bag. While a full sized glossimer will cost you around $27, this set is an awesome deal retailing at just $51.

Smashbox

•  This Smashbox gift set (pictured right) is an exclusive to Ulta and includes Smashbox favorite products like its PhotoFinish primers, a lip gloss in Scoop, an eyeshadow trio and a blush duo. This All day Beauy Kit can be yours for a measly $39.
• Not to be outdone, Sephora is also having a Smashbox exlusive with its Wish for the Perfect Pout lipgloss set. This limited edition set includes 6 fabulous shades and 2 exclusive holiday shades. Pick this up at Sephora for just $29.

Buzzworthy: Stila Blockbuster Palette

This weekend I stumbled across the Stila Blockbuster palette at my local Costco (they have everything there!). At $19.99 how could I possibly say no to this? Stila eyeshadow SINGLES are on average $18, so when the Blockbuster palette boasted an awesome 30 color eyeshadow arsenal there was no way I was passing this up. The palette also packs 15 lip colors, 3 blushes, a bronzer, a highlighter, a lip liner and an eyeliner. Although I am not usually a fan of palettes with lip colors in them, I thought this was a deal too good to pass up. The eyeshadows and lip colors are about dime size and while they do NOT have that excellent Stila quality I've grown to love, they're not that bad for the price. The shadows are pigmented but they are a little bit on the powdery side. The same is true for the bronzer, highlighter and blush colors. The lip colors are not drying but they are a little bit on the sheer side. Bottom line? While these shadows are good, they're not Stila good. At $19.99, the palette is good for the price. (Keep in mind I said good, not great). This little palette is nice to carry along to job appointments and even travel with but it doesn't go beyond that. If you're looking for a quality palette, save your pennies for the Urban Decay Naked palette!

The Buzz on Skincare

 There are as many skincare routines out there as there are skin types. The truth is that while everyone would love to have perfect skin, no one does and every skincare routine is unique because everyone has their own unique skin. My skin has the tendency to be on the dry side so moisturizing is important for me. I wash my face with a normal Dove soap bar twice a day (when I wake up and before bed) and moisturize twice a day as well. My go-to moisturizer is Neutrogena's Oil Free Moisturizer. I apply this all over my face, using it sparingly around my eyes because moisturizers can be too harsh to apply around the delicate areas of your eyes. If I am going out in the sun, I make sure to put on sunscreen underneath my makeup to prevent wrinkles and burning. The Neutrogena Age Face Shield with spf 55 is unscented and does not feel too slick against my skin. Eye creams are not for everyone, but I do apply Benefit's Eye Con every night before bed. At 24 years old, an eye cream is a good idea to use as a preventative measure against crows feet and can also deflate any puffiness. Don't forget to take your makeup off before bed every day. Your skin needs to breathe and clogged pores can cause blemishes and blackheads. I like to use Almay's moisturizing pads to take my eye makeup off (since I use waterproof mascara, these pads take off the makeup without me having to rub so hard). Below is my NAKED face without a lick of makeup on it (be kind, honey bees)! What are your favorite skincare products? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Weekend Haul

This weekend I picked up a few new things from the MAC collection release of a Tartan Tale. The Holiday collection was less than impressive, only the Pearlglides actually striking an interest in me. Both blushes seemed dupable and pretty close to other colors already in my collection like NARS Gina (a dupe for My Highland Honey) and Rock and Republic's Kinky and Smashbox's Radiance (both dupes for Her Blooming Cheek). I only walked away with one Pearlglide in Petrol Blue- a stunning navy with blue sparkle, and The Faerie Glen lipstick, a creamy nude. I aslo had to pick up a few things for my Halloween costume so I got three Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Liners in Air Guitar, Metal Head and Baked. These glitter liners are absolutely perfect for adding glitter to a look without the messy fallout. The payoff is excellent- all you need is one or two swipes for rich color and the full size tubes are huge (these things will last forever!).  I also ordered an Obsessive Cosmetic Lip Tar in Hush, which is my new favorite lip to wear. Not only is the color amazing (a light nude/pink) but it stays on for hours! Pictured below are swatches of the products and my Face of the Day using Petrol Blue eyeliner and The Faerie Glen lipstick.