Christmas & Boxing Day Haul 2013

Hey everyone! Happy belated Christmas to all those who celebrate :) I hope you all had a great holiday.  I thought I'd mix in my Boxing Day purchases with my Christmas gifts considering most of what I got was purchased with gift cards haha.

My friends and I always do a gift exchange over the holidays, and this year I received a little Occitane gift set containing all the products on the left of the photo above. Included were mini versions of their Almond Shower Oil (which I've been wanting to try for so long!), Jasmin & Bergamote body milk, Pivoine Flora shower gel, two different sizes of their hand cream, Lavender bubble bath, Anti-aging "Immortelle" cream, and Extra gentle soap.

I also got the Soap & Glory Sugar Crush scrub and body butter which smells SO GOOD. The scent is sweet lime. Can't wait to start using them.

My dad got me a new hair straightener which I didn't really need but appreciate anyway. My current one is starting to get a little crusty and this one looks really high-tech, so I'm happy with it.

My little brother got me two Bath & Body Works candles, Cinnamon & Clove Buds, and Eucalyptus Mint.

My mom got me the amazing red YSL lipstick that I've been wanting. I know it's redundant, but it must be said: THE PACKAGING is incredible. My dad got me a MAC giftcard so I picked up "Instigator" from their new Punk Couture collection along with Night Moth lip liner. It's insanely dark but I love it.

I also got a new Sephora Formula X nail polish in "Boom". It has baby blue flecks that cluster when you apply the nail polish. It seems really cool so I'll try it out soon and post a review.

On Boxing Day I picked up the Laura Mercier Artist Eyes palette. I knew I needed this palette after seeing it on Makeup and Beauty Blog. She mentions that the eyeshadows are easy to over-blend, but I don't foresee that being a problem. I thought the look she created was phenomenal. I also got two of the Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes eyeshadow sticks which were on offer 2 for $12.

My mom also got me the Diptyque Noisetier candle. It's a very crisp spa-like scent, perfect for when you're taking a bath I think :)

My cousin got me this awesome red beanie that I've been wearing every day since Christmas so far. I haven't worn a hat in so long that I forgot how cozy they are. I also got many gift cards including ones for The Bay, Sephora and Mac.

Not pictures above are this amazing oversize knit sweater from Top Shop that I got for 50% off on Boxing Day, as well as a Boogie Board that my mom thought would be cute to get me.

That's it! I'm really pleased with my gifts and am so thankful for all of them. Happy holidays!

Sephora "Give Me Some Lip" Review/Swatches

Hey everyone! I got some requests to review and post swatches of the Sephora "Give Me Some Lip" set that I featured in a recent haul. I've had the opportunity to wear just about every product in the set so I thought I'd finally share my opinions.

In general, I think this is a really great set. The value-for-money ratio is awesome, since you basically get 6 products for the price of one (albeit sample sizes). I do think the set is better suited for lighter-skinned ladies, because most of these products are quite light themselves (some too light for me even).

I'll start off with the only full-sized product in the set, the Tarte LipSurgence Lip Luster in "Glitzy". I would characterize this as a pale berry color with a slight shimmer. You can only really detect the shimmer up close, but I'm assuming that's what makes this a "lip luster". This is one of the best products in the set, hands down. I think the shade looks great with my skintone, the "crayon" applicator is super easy to use, and it makes my lips look really full and healthy.

Next, the Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in "Dolly". Let me start off by saying this is my favorite lip gloss of the entire set. The color is a smidge less "berry" than the Tarte one, but it has the same golden shimmer. This is the one product in the set that I truly feel gives me the whole "my lips but better" look. The Buxom lip glosses have a plumping effect, so if that bothers you then you won't like this. You can even see in the picture that my lips look a little more lumpy than the first one (that sounds so unflattering haha but it's not as noticeable in person). Also, the scent of this is really yummy - it smells like vanilla cake! I totally foresee buying the full-size version.

The Laura Mercier Lip Glace in "Bare Pink" is one of the lighter shades of the bunch. It's got more a peachy-pink tint than the previous two. I don't foresee myself using this one as much as the Tarte or Buxom, but it's still totally wearable. As you can see it blanks out my cupid's bow a little because it's a lot more similar to my skintone.

The infamous NARS "Turkish Delight"... I had high hopes for this. I really did, but unfortunately I won't be wearing this one at all. It's entirely too light and milky for my complexion. If you're a fan of the blanked out lip look, you might like this, but I hate the say it sits in the folds of my lips. I don't find it flattering at all. (I have to say it doesn't look entirely terrible in the photo but had I posted a full-face shot, you would have been disgusted LOL)

The only opaque lip color of the set is the Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencil in "Rhubarb". Although the shade is a little more on the brown side than I'd like, it's still a pretty lip color. It goes on smooth and is opaque with one swipe ("high pigment" is definitely an adequate description). The pencil itself is a bit fragile so be careful when applying it. I think it could work under lipstick or on its own.

From left-to-right: Bite lip pencil in "Rhubarb", Buxom lip gloss in "Dolly", Tarte LipSurgence in "Glitzy", NARS "Turkish Delight", Fresh Sugar Rose lip treatment, Laura Mercier lip gloss in "Bare Pink"

That concludes the review! Overall very pleased with this purchase (despite the mixup at checkout). Let me know in the comments which one is your favorite. :)

PS. how hard is it to take pictures of your lips?! Ugh haha