Dior Cristal Boreale Holiday 2009 Collection: Smoky Crystal #089 5 Couleurs Palette Fard À Paupières Lumières Vibrantes Review, Swatches and Product Pictures

Above: Dior Smokey Crystal 5 Colour Iridescent Palette 089

Colours from top left to bottom right: chrome silver (top left); shimmery silver taupe (top right); lilac (centre); shimmery charcoal (bottom left); and platinum (bottom right). Dior does not name their eyeshadows, so I named them based on my colour perception.

Dior’s Smoky Crystal 089 quint was released in October for the Cristal Boreale Holiday 2009 Collection and retails for $58 CAD. I picked this up a few weeks ago and I finally have a chance to play with it. Ever since I saw this quint in collection previews, I have been lemming for it and I go “visit” and play with it a the Dior counter and at Sephora. Admittedly, these are not the most unique colours in the world and a few of these in the quint look like some MAC colours, but I was in the mood for more silver and grays and I liked the token purple colour. Sephora was having a promotion that weekend so I picked it up.

I have had some trouble with the pigmentation of my Dior Night Butterfly 173 quint, but the Smokey Crystal 089 quint seem to be an improvement in quality. The colours in the quint are all in the cool family. All the shadows are shimmery but I do not find that they are chalky or chunky. In contrast these shadows feel very smooth and creamy. The shimmer is also subtle without big chunks of glitter or shimmer. According to Dior the iridescent quints are formulated with Wet Reflect™ technology, which creates a wet and high shine look. The pigmentation is decent and it is much better than my Night Butterfly quint, because I do not have to layer after layer to create opacity.

Above from left to right: Chrome silver; shimmery silver taupe; and lilac

Chrome Silver is the lightest colour in the quint but is nicely pigmented. It is metallic with a subtle shimmer. I find that this is a nice pure silver with a slight antiqued finish. This colour swatches on quite smoothly.

Shimmery Silver Taupe is a shimmery dark silver with a bit of yellowish tones. It has a metallic finish without being too frosty. It is one of the most pigmented and smooth colours in the quint. This colour reminds me of MAC’s Smoke and Diamonds and Stila’s Lil Diamond.

Lilac: This is a pinkish purple that is a bit sheer and is one of the lighter colours in the quint. It has a slight iridescent blue cast to it and is has a frosty finish. It is the only colour that I find “chunky.” This colour reminds me of MAC’s Lotusland.

Above left to right: Shimmery charcoal and platinum

Shimmery Charcoal: This is a dark blackened silver with a bit of blue tones to it. It is iridescent with a subtle frosty finish. This is the most pigmented, opaque and smooth colour in the quint.

Platinum: This is a cool toned metallic silver colour. It looks almost  frosty white depending on the lighting. It looks the frostiest of the 5 colours. Although it is frosty, the shine is subtle and does not have obvious chunks of glitter or shimmer in it. Platinum is nicely pigmented and opaque. This colour reminds me of MAC Pigment in Platinum.

LOTD Fun Ways to Wear Medusa’s Makeup Mineral Eye Dusts: As Lipstick/Lipgloss! Purple Edition

I love to wear Medusa’s Makeup Mineral Eye Dust often, because of the high colour payoff and long wear time. Since their eye dusts are all natural, you can wear them anywhere you want. For the next couple of weeks, I will be doing entries on creative and alternative ways to wear these eye dust. At only $8.00 CAD per pop, you can really stretch your buck with these babies. This post would be featuring the purple eye dusts used as lipstick/lipgloss. Not only do I love to very purple on my eyes, but I love to have a pop of bright purple on my lips once in a while.

*Tip: To make a lipstick, I used Medusa’s Makeup Stick It! Primer, a all natural wax based primer to create a matte/cream look. For a glossy look, feel free to add lipgloss on top or just mix clear lipgloss with the loose pigments. Mix until you get your desired intensity.

Also check out my LOTD for Medusa’s Makeup Mineral Eye Dusts in pinks.

Above Medusa’s Makeup Mineral Eye Dust on lips in Ultra Violence

Ultra Violence is one of my favourite metallic lavender shades to wear on my eyes to highlight my inner corners or lightly dusted on my brow bone.  On my skin tone it is just overly frosty, metallic and looks white on my lips. I have a hard time getting full colour coverage for this colour. I used a bit of clear lipgloss to help even out the the colour a bit and it seem to help a little. The colour also bleeds out of my lip line no matter what I do to it. Because it is a frost, it also emphasizes the flakes on my lips more. I can’t rock this as a lip colour but I am sure somebody can.

Above Medusa’s Makeup Mineral Eye Dust on lips in Barbarella

Barbarella is similar to Ultra Violence except that it is darker and more blue. I love to use this as an all over eye colour. On my lips this colour looks very cool. Since this colour is very frosty and metallic, I don’t think I would be wearing this as a lip colour because the frostiness emphasizes my dry flakes. I will wear this as an eyeshadow though.

Above Medusa’s Makeup Mineral Eye Dust on lips in Fascination

On my lips this is a violet with iridescent blue shimmer. Fascination goes on quite opaque and smooth on my lips

Above Medusa’s Makeup Mineral Eye Dust on lips Purple Rain

Purple Rain is a true violet that is on the cool side. It also has bluish tones. The colour is bright and vibrant. It has full colour coverage and is quite opaque as a lip colour.

Above Medusa’s Makeup Mineral Eye Dust on lips in Boy Toy

Boy Toy is a pinkish purple that is in the warm family. Out of all the purple eye dusts, Boy Toy is my favourite because it is the most flattering on my skin tone. The colour coverage and opacity is excellent and because it is not a frost or metallic, it does not emphasize my dry flakes as much. It is also the most “wearable” as a lip colour. Doesn’t this colour remind you of the matte purple lip at the Vena Cava Spring 2010 show?

Above Medusa’s Makeup Mineral Eye Dust on lips in Bruiser

Bruiser is a deep blue violet that is slightly blacken and it fits in quite well with the this fall’s trend of dark/blacken lips. On my lips this gives off slight grayish tones.

FOTD Dior Night Butterfly Palette 173 with Medusa’s Makeup Lipgloss in Gossip Redux

Above is my second attempted at the Dior Night Butterfly Palette 173. The first was my ‘practice’ look and this is the full look I did for my cousin’s night time wedding reception. I used mostly the same products but the eye primer and some of the face products are different. Otherwise, the colour placement of the eyeshadows are the same. I used a clear wax based primer: Medusa’s Makeup Stick It! primer to bring out the shadow’s vibrancy more. For my first FOTD Night Butterfly, I used MAC Bare Study Paint Pot, which got the job done, but it subdued the colours more.

MAC Hyper Real Foundation mixed with Aveeno Positively Radiate Moisturizer

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer mixed with Benefit Moon Beam highlighter for concealing under eye area and imperfections.

MAC MSF Natural to set concealer and T zone

Dior Night Butterfly 173 using light lilac (upper right) for inner eye corner

Dior Night Butterfly using royal purple (upper left) for middle of lid

Dior Night Butterfly using aubergine (lower right) for outer eye corner

Dior Night Butterfly using pewter (lower left) for inner corner of crease to middle of crease

Dior Night Butterfly using glittery black (centre) for middle of crease to outer corner of crease

MAC Paint in Sublime Nature to highlight brow bone

MAC Kohl Power Liner in Feline to line upper and lower lash lines and waterline. Winged out liner for upper lash line.

MAC Dazzle Lash Mascara in Dazzle Black for upper and lower lash lines

Ardell False Demi Lashes 120 for upper lashes

Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes eye contouring kit using darkest brown to fill in brows

MAC MSF Light Flush for cheeks as blush

Benefit Moon Beam Highlighter to highlight tops of cheeks, bridge of nose, forehead and chin. Then use MAC Sculpt and Shape in Accentuate/Sculpt using Accentuate (peach) to go over areas using Moon Beam.

MAC Accentuate/Sculpt using Sculpt (brown) to contour hollow of cheeks and sides of nose.

Medusa’s Makeup Lipgloss in Gossip for lips

Above nails: Chanel Le Vernis Kaleidoscope 479 with Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer Untarnished layered on top

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 4: Bronzer, Highlighter and Blushes Swatches and Review

Above: Treasure Chest Tier 4 Bronzer, Highlighter and Blushes

After playing with almost everything in the Treasure Chest, I really like the face powders and blushes the most. I think these are the real winners in this blockbuster set. Everything is finely milled and very soft. The pigmentation is strong but looks very natural and not clownishly bright on my NW35/NC35 skin tone.  In addition, it is long lasting on my skin!

Tarte Park Avenue Princess Bronzer and Highlighter

Above: Tarte Park Avenue Princess bronzer (left) and Tarte highlighter (right)

Although I am naturally tanned throughout the year and in general I don’t need a bronzer, I really like the Park Avenue Princess bronzer. It is a shimmering muted gold. The colour is perfect for my medium skin tone because I alternate between a NW35 and NC35. It does not make me overly dark, orange or dirty as some bronzers tend to do. I find it really helps warm up my complexion when it looks dull. It is a semi-matte with a hint of shimmer to add radiance. This looks very subtle and natural. I think I might buy the compact size for me to be able to do touch ups when I do use a bronzer.

The highlighter is a light shimmery pink in the pan and it reminds be of Benefit’s Dandelion face brightening powder; however, this powder is more finely milled and softer than the former. This highlighter is brighter than Dandelion and creates a stronger and more evident highlight. I like that Tarte’s highlighter creates a stronger highlight because I find Dandelion to be too subtle and it barely shows up on my medium skin tone. It is also nice to have a brighter highlighter for the evenings for highlighting. I have to be careful not to be too heavy handed because if I use too much I end up looking too bright and shiny. In addition, when I am too heavy handed I end up looking too ashen because this highlighter gives a silvery glow to my skin tone. I think girls darker than a NW/NC 40 would find this highlighter too light and silvery for their skin tone.

Tarte Blushes

The blushes look very bright and dark in the pan but on my skin it looks very subtle and sheer. Since the blushes are very finely milled and soft, I would use a soft hand when putting the product on the brush because I find the product does fly around when I am a bit heavy handed. The pigmentation is strong and it is long lasting. Because these are very pigmented, do use a light hand, as a little goes a long way. All the blushes are shimmery but the shimmer is subtle and almost non- detectable on my skin. On my skin these blushes last a good 6-8 hours before I washed my face. Most of the time I have trouble making blushes show up on my skin tone and making it last on my skin but these blushes’ colour not only show up on my skin but they have lasting power. Usually most blushes last me about 3-4 hours before it completely fades away, but these Tarte blushes last me twice as long. These give me a nice healthy pretty flush for the majority of the day.

Above: Tarte blushes 1st and 2nd blushes from left to right

The first blush in the collection (first from left) is a peachy pink with slight golden shimmer. It looks slightly Barbie but on my skin it is a nice subtle pink. In the pan this looks like Nars Orgasm but I find this to be more pigmented and pinker.

The second blush ( second from left) is a muted mauve pink with gold shimmer. This is one of the more shimmery colours in the set. It is a nice colour and it reminds me of a MAC mineralize blush ( I just don’t remember the name because I don’t own it) but it is not my favourite in the collection and I may not reach for it as much.

Above: Tarte blushes 3rd and 4th blushes from left to right

Third blush ( third from left) is a peachy coral colour with gold shimmer. This is my favourite colour in the set because it gives me this warm glow and a peachy keen complexion. The shimmer in this is non-detectable. This gives my cheeks a nice healthy peachy keen flush for the majority of the day.

Fourth blush (last) is a muted brick red with shimmer in the pan. When swatch on my skin it looks very strong and brightly pinkish red. I have yet to wear this colour on my cheeks but if it is anything like the previous blushes and if I use a light hand, it should give a nice see through natural dose of colour on my cheeks. This is the darkest and brightest colour in the set, it may be a nice blush for the evenings or for girls with a dark skin tone.

*Update on red blush (last pan): Holy Moley! This blush is bright. I was probably too heavy handed when applying this blush and it made me look like I am Bozo the Clown! It is definitely the brightest and darkest blush in the set. To resolve the problem of over applying, I needed to buff out the colour with a translucent powder and follow by a bronzer to tone down the colour. I will have to remember to use an extra light hand and tap out the excess next time and treat the blush like a mineralize blush. When I finally toned down the colour, I look like I have an after snowboarding/cold weather afterglow instead of a scary clown. PHEEW!

Also check out these Tarte Treasure Chest posts:

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 1 Shimmery Eyeshadows

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 2 Matte Eyeshadows

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 3 Lipglosses Part A

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 3 Lipglosses Part B

Tarte Treasure Chest Product Pictures

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 3: Lipglosses, Review and Swatches Part B

Hi all, this is a continuation of my last post for the Tarte Treasure Chest lipglosses. This is for lipglosses in section B numbers 9-16. Enjoy them! And please also check out the Tarte glosses from section A numbers 1-8.

Above #9: This is a light champagne pink. It is lightly pigmented and sheer with a golden shimmer. It reminds me of  a sheer and less pigmented version of Nars Orgasm in the pan but on my lips the colour is barely noticeable and very sheer.

Above #10: This colour is a watermelon pink. It is medium pigmented and semi-sheer. This colour is also a cream finish with no shimmer or glitter.

Above #11: This colour is a medium toned blue pink and is on the cool side. It is a creamy finish with zero shimmer or glitter. On my lips it is semi-pigmented and semi-sheer.

Above #12: This is a bronze colour with shimmer and has slight reddish pink tones. It runs on the warm side against my skin tone. It is decently pigmented and opaque.

Above #13: This is a shimmery burgundy and it runs on the warm side. On my lips it looks like a brownish pink.

Above #14:  This is a shimmery cooper colour that gives reddish tones on my lips. It is medium pigmented and opaque.

Above #15: This colour is a berry colour that looks bluish pink. It has a light shimmer to it. This colour is medium in pigmentation and opacity.

Above #16: This is a deep creamy red with zero shimmer and glitter in the pan, but on my lips it looks like a cherry red. It is a cool red and it is one of the most pigmented colours in the set. I find this quite opaque and is easily buildable.

Above Tarte lipglosses section B top row 9-12 and bottom row 13-16

Also check out these Tarte Treasure Chest posts:

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 1 Shimmery Eyeshadows

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 2 Matte Eyeshadows

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 3 Lipglosses Part A

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 4 Bronzer, Highlighter and Blushes

Tarte Treasure Chest Product Pictures

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 3: Lipglosses, Review and Swatches Part A

Above Tarte Lipglosses Tier 3

The Tarte Treasure Chest comes in a whooping 16 colours.  These look very yummy and they look like squares of  Jolly Rancher candies. Some colours are very sheer and lightly pigmented and some are semi-pigmented and semi-opaque. The finishes vary from shimmer to cream finishes. I find the gloss non-sticky and these don’t feel drying on my lips. Since there are 16 colours, I am splitting the review and swatches into two parts because I don’t want to overwhelm you with information and pictures within one post. This post would show section A columns 1 and 2 for glosses 1-8. For your ease, I numbered the glosses from left to right, top to bottom.

Above #1: I would describe this as a caramel colour. It is a pinkish golden brown with shimmer. I find this colour very sheer and the colour is not very noticeable on my lips.

Above #2: This is a maraschino cherry red. It is a warm shade against my skin tone. This colour is semi- pigmented and semi-opaque. I find the colour semi-buildable. It has a cream finish with no shimmer.

Above #3: This is a creamy bubble gum pink. The pigmentation is OK and it is semi-sheer but you can tell I have a light pink gloss on my lips.

Above #4: This is a magenta with light pink shimmer to it.  It runs cool against my skin tone.The colour is semi-pigmented and semi-opaque, but similar to the color above, you can tell I have a pink gloss on my lips.

Above #5: This is another caramel/beige colour with golden shimmer. On my lips it looks a bit pink and seems to run on the warm side of the spectrum. This caramel colour is more pigmented and opaque than the #1 caramel colour.

Above #6: This colour looks apricot with shimmer in the pan and it is one of the cuter colours in the collection; however, this is very sheer and not very pigmented. It looks like I am wearing a sheer colourless gloss with shimmer on my lips. This colour would be best suited as an over gloss on top of more pigmented lipsticks and lipglosses.

Above #7: In the pan this looks like a cool toned Barbie blue pink with light pink shimmer. This colour would have been very cute if it was more pigment. The color is very sheer and not pigmented. Unlike, the above pinks (3-4) the pink tones are not very visible on my lips. This would be a better over other lip products.

Above #8: This is a light peachy beige with shimmer. On my lips it looks like I am wearing  a clear frosty /shimmery gloss. I think I would more likely use this as an over gloss.

Above Tarte lipglosses section A top row 1-4 and section A bottom row 4-8

Also check out these Tarte Treasure Chest posts:

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 1 Shimmery Eyeshadows

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 2 Matte Eyeshadows

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 3 Lipglosses Part B

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 4 Bronzer, Highlighter and Blushes

Tarte Treasure Chest Product Pictures

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 2: Matte Eyeshadows Review, Swatches and Final Thoughts on All 32 Eyeshadows

Above: Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 2 matte eyeshadows

Section A column 1 top to bottom: peachy nude;  dark charcoal gray; pinky peach; milk chocolate brown.

Section A column 2 top to bottom: light grayish taupe; peachy beige; navy blue; brownish beige

Section B column 1: light peachy pink; lilac; warm heather gray; forest green

Section B column 2: nudy brown; reddish brown; white; dark gray

My first thoughts for the matte eyeshadows are that they are soft but I find that it lacks colour diversity, especially between the browns. It is nice that the mattes have a lot of neutrals and several fun colours such as purple, blue and green; however, I find all the neutrals very similar. I have a hard time distinguishing between all the peaches, grays and browns. The neutrals are in the same general colour family and the only difference is that they are either a bit lighter or darker than one another.

Section A column 1 colours from left to right:

Peachy nude: This colour looks fairly pastel on my skin. The colour is light but it is nicely pigmented and opaque. I think this would be a nice highlighting colour.

Dark charcoal: In the pan this looks like a chocolate brown, but it is a dark gray colour with some brown in it. This colour is pigmented and opaque.

Peachy pink: This colour is light and a bit sheer. It reminds of a lighter, sheerer and matte version of MAC Paradisco.

Milk chocolate: This is a light brown that looks like chocolate milk. It is decently pigmented and opaque.

Section A column 2 left to right:

Light grayish taupe: In the pan, I thought this is a light beige colour, but on my skin it is a very light gray with pinkish brown tones in it. This colour has a soft satiny sheen to it. This colour has very light pigmentation and is a bit sheer.

Peachy beige: This is a very light and sheer colour. It reminds me of MAC’s Kid eyeshadow, except that this colour has very weak pigmentation and goes on sheer. I have a difficult time building up the opacity.

Navy blue: This is a dark matte blue. I find this to be a bit sheer and the texture a bit chalky.

Brownish beige: This colour is a medium brown colour with decent pigmentation and opacity. It looks a bit golden to me. The colour has a soft satiny sheen to it.

Section B column 1:

Light peachy pink: This is a pastel colour. It is nicely pigmented and opaque.

Lilac: This a warm purple. It is nicely pigmented and opaque.

Warm heather gray: In the pan, I thought this is a green, but on my skin this is a medium toned warm gray. It has a bit of yellow tones to it. This colour has decent pigmentation and opacity.

Forest green: This swatches as a dark blackened green. It is pigmented and opaque.

Section B column 2 from left to right:

Nudy brown: This is a medium toned brown with rosy tones to it and it runs on the warm side. It has decent pigmentation and opacity.

Reddish brown: This is a warm brown with reddish tones to it. This colour feels a bit chalky. The colour is lightly pigmented and a bit sheer.

White: This is a pure white with no yellow tones to make it look creamy. The pigmentation and opacity is decent.

Dark gray: This is a blackened dark gray. It has decent pigmentation and opacity.

Final thoughts of all 32 eyeshadows (tier 1 shimmers and tier 2 mattes):

*Overall, I feel the eyeshadows are just OK. I feel that the quality and colour pigmentation is OK because there are quite a few that are chalky and sheer and the pigmentation is a bit weak. When I swatch these in the store, I was impressed with the soft texture of shadow and these seem very pigmented, hence enticing me to buy this set. After playing around with my own Treasure Chest I was not as impressed as I thought I would  be. There are more  colour variety in the shimmery eyeshadow tier than the matte because many of matte neutral colours are very similar to me. I like this set a lot better at Sephora than at home. Unfortunately, I am feeling a bit of buyers remorse right now . However, swatching and applying colours for a FOTD are completely different experiences, I want to give this set a chance to prove me wrong.

Also check out these Tarte Treasure Chest posts:

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 1 Shimmery Eyeshadows

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 3 Lipglosses Part A

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 3 Lipglosses Part B

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 4 Bronzer, Highlighter, Blushes

Tarte Treasure Chest Product Pictures

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 1:Shimmery Eyeshadows Review and Swatches

Above: Tarte Treasure Chest tier 1 shimmery eyeshadows.

Section A column 1 from top to bottom: medium muted gold; gold glittered brown; golden pinky peach; golden glittered charcoal.

Section A column 2 from top to bottom: toffee brown; shimmery light gold; shimmery pink; light shimmery lavender.

Section B column 1 from top to bottom: shimmery cranberry, shimmery emerald green; shimmery mint green; shimmery indigo.

Section B column 2 from top to bottom: shimmery burgundy; shimmery sea foam green; shimmery aubergine; shimmery glittery silver.

After swatching these shadows, I find that colour and pigmentation quality are mixed. All of these shadows feel very buttery and soft. I find that most of these are decently pigmented but a few are a bit sheer and I have a difficult time building up the opacity. Tier 1 are all shimmery shadows and a few of them have glitter. Below are swatches, colour and quality descriptions base on my perception.

Above: Tarte shimmery eyeshadows section A column 1 (left)

Colours from top left to bottom right:

Shimmery muted medium gold (top left): This gold is slightly metallic without glitter. This one is nicely pigmented.

Golden pinky peach (top right): This colour is on the warm side with no glitter. It reminds me of MAC Paradisco. This colour’s pigmentation is one the light side but it is not sheer.

Golden glittered brown (bottom left): This is a medium brown that is very glittery with flecks of gold in in. Surprisingly, I find this brown a bit sheer.

Golden glittered charcoal (bottom right): This is a charcoal with flecks of gold glitter in it. This colour is nicely pigmented.

Above: Tarte shimmery eyeshadows section A column 2 (right)

Colours from top left to bottom right:

Toffee Brown (top left): This toffee brown (think candy or caramel) is warm toned and shimmery with no glitter. This colour is nicely pigmented.

Shimmery Pink (bottom left): This looks like a light peachy pink in the pan, but on my skin it looks like at true  frosty pink. It is one of the most shimmery colours in the box. This one is nicely pigmented.

Shimmery light gold (top right): This colour is a very light yellow gold. It is one of the sheerest colours in the box. I have difficulties building up the opacity.

Light shimmery lilac (bottom right): This light purple is very light and sheer and it has a light golden shimmer to it. This colour is hard to build up opacity.

Above: Tarte shimmery eyeshadows section B column 1( right)

Colours from top left to bottom right:

Shimmery cranberry (top left): This colour is shimmery but not glittery. It is nicely pigmented and easily made opaque.

Shimmery mint green (bottom left): This is a light green with a bit of yellow tones. It is a shimmer without glitter. This color reminds me of darker greener version of MAC’s Juxt eyeshadow. This has decent pigmentation and is easily made opaque.

Shimmery emerald green (top right): This is a rich jewel toned green in the pan but on my skin it is a blacken green. It is a shimmer without glitter. I find this colour to be a bit sheer.

Shimmery indigo (bottom right): This is a dark blue in the pan with light flecks of silver glitter. On my skin, it looks off black. I find that this is a bit sheer.

Above: Tarte shimmery eyeshadows section B column 2 (left)

Colours from top left to bottom right:

Shimmery burgundy (top left): In the pan this looks dark red with shimmer, but on my skin this looks blacken red with brown tones. This is a shimmer with no glitter. I find this to be sheer.

Shimmery aubergine (bottom left):  This is a shimmer purple red with no glitter.  This colour is nicely pigmented and opaque.

Shimmery sea foam green (top right): This is a blue green with shimmer and zero glitter. It is nicely opaque and pigmented. This colour reminds me of two MAC shadows: Aquadisiac and Shimmermoss.

Shimmery glittery silver (bottom right): This is a white silver with silver glitter. I find this to be one of the lightest colours in the collection. It is sheer and not very pigmented. I have a difficult time building opacity.

Also see these posts on Tarte Treasure Chest:

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 2 Matte Eyeshadows

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 3 Lipglosses Part A

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 3 Lipglosses Part B

Tarte Treasure Chest Tier 4 Bronzer, Highlighter and Blushes

Source: Tarte Cosmetics

Is Tarte Cosmetics’ Treasure Chest Full of Treasures? Tarte Treasure Chest Product Pictures

I was going on a makeup ban until January with the exception of buying the required skin care items for myself; however, last week Sephora sent me a email with a VIB 20% off coupon and I couldn’t resist but treat myself one last time. At least the last time until the new year.

I normally stay away from these blockbuster holiday sets because it has an intimidating amount of product and it would take forever for me to go through. I have never tried anything from Tarte. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to sample a few Tarte items for a bulk price. This costs regular price $68 CAD, but with the discount it costs $54.40.  This set has 58 pieces of makeup separated in 4 tiers: 2 eyeshadow tiers with 16 mattes and 16 shimmers, a tier of 16 lipglosses, 1 blush/bronzer/highlighter tier with 4 blushes. All eyeshadows, lipglosses and blushes are new colours. The pink luminizer and Park Avenue Princess Bronzer are from the existing product line. From swatching Tarte items in the store, all the powder products feel very soft and finely milled. However, from in-store swatching I am unsure about the pigmentation and I would need to play around with my own set more before posting an entry on the swatches and reviews.

The silver packing with gems are cute and I wouldn’t mind keeping this box around if I ever use up the products. The packing feels sturdy and strong. It is bulky and it would not be something you would throw in your purse for touch ups. For myself, I would not mind putting this in my luggage for week long trips, if I need to achieve a variety of looks from casual to formal. I do wish that the sides of the box would have a velcro or a magnet to help secure the box, as I find that it does slides around a bit when it is out of the original plastic packaging. I find that the bottom blush tier hard to pull out, as I have nicked one of the blushes twice, but it could just be mine own set that is problematic.

I haven’t have a chance to play around with the items in Treasure Chest yet, but I would be posting an entry for swatches and a review on the items as soon as I can. For now enjoy the pictures.

Above: Tarte Treasure Chest

Above: Tarte shimmery eyeshadows

Above: Tarte matte eyeshadows

Above: Tarte lipglosses

Above: Tarte blushes, bronzer and luminizer

Sensitive Skin or Looking for a Gentle Soap Free Cleanser? Try Bioderma Sensibo 3-in-1 Cleanser

A Beauty Advisor at London Drugs recommended this to me a few months ago because my skin was extremely irritated from using Retin-A Micro and I had patches of eczema on my face. Gross I know! This cleanser feels very gentle and soothing on my irritated skin. I did find this cleanser moisturizing because it is free of soap, fragrance and alcohol with zero phenoxyethanol. I don’t need to rinse this off with additional water, hence further dehydrating my skin. It is a bonus that it is a basic cleanser, eye makeup remover and toner in one. All I have to do is soak a cotton pad with the cleanser and wipe my face with it. This would be a nice item to bring along on short trips, such as camping, as I would not want to carry around varies bottles and I would not be wearing a lot of makeup or any at all. Having said that, I find this cleanser is effective on light makeup but not anything waterproof or when I am wearing a full face with foundation, concealer and powder.

Although this cleanser is gentler, I find that I have difficulty taking off foundation and waterproof makeup, as I always have makeup residue from using this cleanser alone. If I use Bioderma Sensibo alone as a cleanser, I would need to soak a second or third cotton pad to cleanse my face and splash with water as well to make my face clean. I find it is more effective as a toner, used after a gel or cream cleanser, as it would clean up the residue the makeup remover has left on my face. Only when I use it as a toner, it would be “no rinse.”

In summary, I find that is product is OK as a cleanser because it only cleans well with light makeup; however, I think it is excellent as a toner. As a toner, it cleans off the leftover makeup residue and it hydrates my skin. I find that this product helps my skin absorb my moisturizer better.

Source: Bioderma