Spotted at Costco: Great deals on Borghese Brush Set, Maybelline and Nuetrogena

Oh, how I love you Costco! It's a place where you can buy things in bulk for a really affordable price and save a lot of money. My family and I come here once every 2 months to get our supply of meats, juices, paper towels, toilet papers, shampoo and conditioner and etc. They also have a big beauty and wellness section and I want to show you all the cool stuff I found.

Borghese Professional Select makeup brush set $23.99

If you are not familiar with this brand then you are really missing out. In my opinion, Borghese makes the most softest, most amazing quality brushes. They're better than ELF, MAC, yes I said MAC and all the highend brushes I've ever tried. The bristles are amazingly soft, tightly packed, doesn't shed or bleed and the handles are very sturdy. I own their Holiday brushes from 2 years ago and they're still awesome. The only thing I don't like about them is that they have a huge blending brush that doesn't fit my eyes and the handles are quite bulky, but for $23.99? I can't complain.

Costco always carries Stila makeup that comes in a set just like in the photos. You get 3 products for the price of $12.97. That's a steal!

Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion mascaras. You get 3 mascara for only $14.99. That's enough to last you a year or more depending on how often you use  them.

Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes. They're usually $5.99 to $7.49 for 25 towelettes, but at Costco you get 144 wipes for only $14.99. That is such a good deal!

Have you been to Costco lately? 

NEW Stila Backstage Beauty Fall Collection 2011

I just want to share an email I got from Stila about their new Backstage Beauty Fall Collection 2011.

I'm a big fan of Stila cosmetics and this collection is just gorgeous. The Stay All Day waterproof brown color sounds awesome! Go to their website to purchase them www.stilacosmetics.com

Stila Semi-Annual Online Warehouse Sale!!!!

To all Stila cosmetics lovers and makeup enthusiast, here is your chance to snag Stila makeup on sale up to 80% off. Wow, that's a lot of savings! Stila is on the expensive side, so I suggest you take advantage of this awesome sale and stock up on your favorite Stila products.

Sale ends July 1, 2011 at midnight PT.

Click HERE to start shopping!!

The Ultimate Minis

price: $20

sale: $15

Luxe Beauty

price: $30

sale: $18

These are just examples of what you can get...Hurry and go to Stila.com and shop before they run out.

Prize Package: Inglot, Stila, La Charme Lashes, Kleancolor, NK

I'm so excited to share with you the prize package I got from Kim of Da Diva Beauty blog. I won her birthday giveaway and I was seriously surprised with all the stuff she got me. If you guys don't know who she is then I suggest you check out her blog. She creates the most gorgeous FaceOfTheDay and OMG, I envy her luscious lips!

She included a nice message written on this super cute card ^_^.

La Charme False Eye Lashes

Kleancolor Crack Nail Polish in Black Crackle

NK Lipstick in Lavder Tint and Pink Tint

Stila Collectible Travel Palette no.3

Trendsetting in Tokyo

Inglot Eye Shadows. This is my very first eye shadows in Inglot. I'm so excited.

Thank you so much Kim. I'm sure you had an awesome birthday!

Da Diva Beauty

Like her on Facebook HERE

Review/Swatch: Stila Perfecting Concealer

Stila Perfecting Concealer is the concealer I use when I'm not using my favorite Almay Line Smoothing concealer. I've had it for awhile now and I quite like it. It's full coverage and covers my slight dark circles, blemishes and discoloration so well. It even feels light and moisturizing. The only thing I don't like is the creasing. It easily creased into the fine lines under my eyes. But I guess it's not a big deal since I only have few fine lines and they're not too noticeable...yet O_o.

SPECIFICATIONS

PRODUC CLAIM from the Stila website: "This fuller coverage concealer produces a delicate, semi-matte finish that's ideal for hiding under eye circles, scars, redness, and other imperfections. Select a shade that blends with and complements your skin tone " 

PRICE: $23. It's expensive.

AVAILABILITY: Sephora, Ulta.com, Stila.com
AMOUNT: 0.27 oz
PACKAGING: Tube concealer. I like it. It dispenses the product nicely with just a soft squeeze.
SHADE: I got shade H (dark) and F (medium). F looks dark in the tube but matches my skin perfectly. LOVE IT. I'm an NC 42-43 with MAC.
TEXTURE: It's slightly thick yet creamy enough to apply and blend. I use my ring finger or my CVS Essence of Beauty concealer brush. I also even find it moisturizing.
SCENT: None.
FINISH: It's supposed to be semi-matte, but I think it has a dewy finish. It makes my under eyes look a bit shiny. I notice it more in photos. I don't mind it, but I prefer a matte finish for my concealer.
COVERAGE: It's full coverage and a little goes a long way. I only had to use one tiny dot on each eye to cover my slight dark circles. It also covers my blemishes and redness very well.
LONGEVITY: After a few hours, it creased into the fine lines under my eyes O_o. It happens all the time no matter how much powder I use for setting. But for the rest of my face, it pretty much lasted all day.

Swatches on my arm. It looks shiny doesn't it?

H and F

PROS:

-Opaque. Great for covering dark circles, blemishes and discoloration.

-A little goes a long way. 

-Long lasting

CONS:

-Expensive

-It creases into fine lines.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: It's a great product for covering under eye circles, blemishes and discoloration, but be aware that it easily creases into fine lines. Applying a setting powder won't even work. Also, it has a dewy finish that oily people friends might not like. Other than that, its a good concealer. If you have the money, then you should try it. ^_^

Birchbox #2 and Merry Christmas everyone!

I got my 2nd Birchbox for this month of December. My heart raised a little bit when I saw the bright pink box in the security guard's office...it's my Birchbox!!! I love getting packages in the mail and knowing I will get one every month with beauty goodies is really exciting...like getting a present every month whoo hoo!

If you guys don't know what Birchbox is all about, it's a monthly subscription service where you get a package or what they call Birchbox with samples from different high end beauty brands. You get 4-5 product samples and it's only $10 a month. They are handpicked by the Birchbox team so you know you're getting the best products. It's a really neat idea because I'm able to try different high end products without breaking the bank and, I have an option to invest in a full size product if I end up liking them. You are awesome Birchbox!!!




Just like my last Birchbox, everything was nicely packaged with tissues and ribbons. It may not seem like a big deal to some but it is to me. I love the company's effort to make the package look so pretty!

Stila, Lip Glaze in Kitten is my first Stila lip product and I was so excited when I saw it. The shade Kitten is Stila's most popular shade and it also comes in an eyeshadow and gel liner.

Serge Lutens, L'Eau sample fragrance. He's a cult fragrance designer. How do I know this? It says it on the product list lol. I've never heard of the brand before and I'm not too big on fragrance but it sure is nice to get a little sample to try. It smells very fresh!



Jouer, Luminizing Moisture Tint is a mineral tinted moisturizer with spf 20. Never even heard of this brand as well but it  look pretty cool.



Blow, Heat is On is a protective mist for the hair and it supposed to nourish, detangle and condition the hair.



That's it for my December Birchbox. I'm pleased with everything I got and I can't wait to get my next one lol. You should sign up for Birchbox too so you can enjoy these products samples like I do.

Read about my first Birchbox here




And Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone especially to all my friends here in the blogging community, thanks for all your love and support. I have a little bit of haters and I love you guys too because you guys add views to my blog haha! 














   

Review: Stila Smudge Pot Holiday Set.

A friend of mine asked me on facebook how she can prevent her eye liner bleeding onto her eye lids and melting at the end of the day. I advised her to prime her eye lids well before applying eye liner, set it with the same eye shadow powder or she can opt for a gel or cream liner. I recommend the Stila Smudge Pot Holiday set . You get 4 colors, a shimmery champagne nude, sparkly violet, midnight blue and a basic black. These were my first gel liners and I love them!

WHAT

This unique gel eyeliner and shadow is an innovative alternative to traditional powder and liquid formulas. This clever little gel has an inky intensity that leaves powder shadows in the dust. A favorite for the sultry, smoky eye. Apply with a liner brush for razor-sharp precision or smudge it with your fingers for more complete coverage. Remember to always close the airtight lid to keep the gel soft and pliable. Source: http://www.stilacosmetics.com

 The set same in 4 mini smudge pots.
-Kitten (Champagne Beige with gold specks)

-Black (Inky Black)

-Starry Night (Midnight blue with specks of gold)

-Violet (Purple with specks of silver)

WHERE

I bought the set at Sephora last year. I don't think it's still available in the market. Violet and Starry Night are not available on the Stila website.

PRICE:

It retailed for $32.00 It was such a good deal.

TEXTURE:

Creamy, smooth and a little goes a long way. They are all pigmented. Black and Kitten only took one swipe to get the colors to show. On the other hand, Starry Night and Violet took two swipes to get the colors to show. It wasn't a big deal though.

QUALITY:

Highly Pigmented and it stays all they long.

Swatches

Starry Night, Violet, Black and Kitten

Violet

I used it on one of my old makeup looks last year ^_^

HERE

Starry Night

Final Thought: 

I was lucky to buy this set because they sold out pretty fast at my local Sephora. They're tiny and cute and are smaller than their regular size Smudge Pots but that's one of the reasons why I love them. My favorites are  Violet which is a rich and intense purple shade and black. They're both so pretty on the upper lash line.
Also, Smudge Pots are great alternative for eye liner pencil and it stays all day long!!! I highly recommend them.

FOTN: Violet Liner and Bright Pink lips.

Whenever I don't put too much effort in my makeup, thats when I get the most compliment. Weird right? But I guess that only shows that makeup does not have to complicated to look beautiful. You can do something simple yet pretty and eye catching. I did this FOTD on friday for work and, I got compliments from all my co workers and even customers ^_^

(The liner appears more bright and intense in person)

This look is sooo easy to do. If you know how to put an eyeliner then you can do this. I used a bright glittery violet gel liner by Stila cosmetics. You can use whatever bright colored eye liner you prefer. It can be in gel, pencil or liquid. Use whatever you are comfortable with.

Ugh! I notice my face is getting chubby lol. I gotta cut back on stuffing my face!

eyes:
Almay line smoothing concealer as a base
MAC Yogurt (light, plae pink) e/s as highlight
NYX Luxor (light purple) e/s brushed lightly on the lids
Stila Violet gel liner on the upper lashline
Maybelline Great Big Lash mascara
Stila Kitten gel liner on the water line
Mark Espresso e/s applied lightly on the lower lashline

face:
Revlon colorstay liquid foundation in Golden Caramel
Almay line smoothing concealer in light/med
Sally Hansen translucent powder
Avon Smooth Minerals blush in Golden
lips:
Carmex to moisturize the lips
Wet and Wild nude lip liner
NYX Chloe round l/s as first coat
NYX Spellbound round l/s as second coat
NYX Pink round lip gloss

The bright pink lips compliments the bright purple liner so well.




Stila's Violet gel liner. It looks blue violet in the pot but it comes out bright violet on the lids.

 
I hope you guys like it ^_^