Ed Note: The Luxury Sampler

One of the very best things about the holiday season kicking off earlier and earlier every year is the abundance of amazing luxury product gift sets coming at you left right and center. 

There seem  to be endless options between skincare and color cosmetics to keep any beauty junkie coming back for more. 

The first one that caught my eye (and it won't be the last) was the Tata Harper Purely Powerful Skincare set. Four sample sized versions of their best sellers for you to test drive for under 50$.

Swoon.

The two standout products are easily our potted friends the Rejuvenating Cleanser, a lovely creamy exfoliating wash and, the Resurfacing Mask, a rose jam looking and smelling enzyme mask. 

The Regenerating Cleanser is a nice manual scrub for the days where your acidic products are simply not getting the job done the way you want them to. It is a little more substantial than my typical cleansing oil but it doesn't feel harsh or drying. I would not likely reach for this every night but a few times a week is comes in very handy. 

The Resurfacing Mask is the best product in the mix by far. Slathered over the face and left for a few minutes this creates almost instant radiance and clarity to dull dehydrated skin. It offers a nice gentle chemical exfoliation through acids and enzymes to remove excess cells. It recommends you use every day but at 55$ a pop this will definitely be a once a week treat.

The Rejuvenating Serum and the Repairative Moisturizer are both OK but nothing to write home about and nothing to shell out the luxury price for. 

In my humble opinion.

But that is what makes these little samplers such a great value. For less than the cost of one product you can try four and only commit to the full sizes of the formulas you love.

Get them while the getting is good. This baby is limited edition and all the best kits will be gone long before the January Sales.

August Beauty Favorites 2014!

 

 I promise tomorrow we'll be back with less video content and more bloggy business but if I'm honest after the holiday weekend I'm a little behind.

That said, I thought we could take a little walk down makeup memory lane and look at all the goodies I've loved this month!

Life is lived behind the cut!

The Daily Glow Redux

I fund a routine that I love! That's rare.

I spoke about it here. Now I'm gonna show you how I do it,

Life is behind the cut!

The Hangover Facial

So let's get real. If you have a serious hangover you are not going to do this. Some days your are just bed bound until dinnertime-no shame, we've all been there but this little setup is not intended for those days.

Although on the days where you're feeling a little worse for the wear but have to get going anyway it is always a good idea to have a product lineup that gets things moving.

Let's do this one step at a time...

The Daily Glow

Nothing is more exciting than coming across a selection of base products that just...work. When you're all done applying it's exactly the way you want it to be and it's quick to get on.

As someone who doesn't try a lot of foundation type products all at once plunking down on a new one and having it work out is especially exciting.

The Spectrum: Navy

I have found a new neutral and it's taking over my collection. 

Navy is not, by any means, a ground breaking shade but ever since I got the Lorac Pro 2 Palette with that amazing matte navy I have been all over the color.

Now my two favorite ways to incorporate navy shades into my look have been eyes and nails. 

About Face: Simply Complicated

It never eases to amaze me how many products can be employed in the achievement of the "no make up" made up face. Now clearly I am wearing lipstick in the above shots but I am loving all my new bits and really wanted to give them a test run.

I decided for a Sunday running errands in the neighborhood a plain, contoured face a naked eye and a bold lip and brow were the way to go.

I am LOVING my new foundation routine. I think a video might be in order on that account. This is a very face heavy face of the day and I started, as you do, by priming. First the eyes with Lorac Behind the Scenes and then the face with Becca's Ever-Matte formula.

 I tend to prime my whole eye area because I find eye primer products to be as helpful with concealers as they are with shadows. The Becca face primer is really in a class of itself. It leaves me smooth and matte looking for hours and I have never really encountered anything else like it.

I have been really reveling in the good skin since I finally invited Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua into my life for good. This foundation produces a finish on the skin that is so lovely you might need to see it to believe it. On top of the beautiful finish, when paired with the Becca primer, it feels like you have nothing on your skin.

The concealers are a bit of a classic duo, the Clinique Airbrush (RIP this one kicked the bucket this morning.) and the Nars Radiant Creamy. Layered together they make for a bright under eye that doesn't look over highlighted or caked on. This and the foundation went on with the aid of my trusty Real Techniques Buffing Brush.

After, I set all of the face products with my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light. If I sing the praises of this stuff anymore you are all going to get sick of the tune and change the station. (It's still powder perfection though)

On the cheeks I just contoured with some of Illamasqua's Cream Pigment in Hollow and the Real Techniques Contour Brush. I skipped the blush to keep the color focus on the lip and opted for a strong highlight from theBalm's Mary Lou-Manizer instead. The cheek products from theBalm really are worth checking out if you ever find yourself near a counter. I find myself reaching for this or the Cindy Lou-Manizer almost every day. 

So the eyes. Almost nothing but just enough.

I used a push liner brush to get some of MAC's Typographic right up into the lashline for some added definition and volume. I popped some of my highlighter in the inner corner, curled my lashes (Japonesque...meh) and loaded up with YSL'a Faux Cils Shocking Mascara. The mascara is kind of to die for. It's nice to know that when a brand asks you to shell out $30 for a product you will have to ditch in 3 months anyway they really make it worth your while.

As a last minute addition to they eyes I popped some of Rimmel's Scandal Eyes Eyeliner in Nude on my lower waterline for an extra bit of the wide awake effect.

For brows I stuck with my day to day and ran a bit of the Hourglass Arch Sculpting Pencil in Medium Brunette through the brows and then set them with the Essence Clear Lash and Brow Gel. It's 3$ and I have never encountered a better brow gel.

And now...for the centerpiece we have Marc Jacobs Kiss Pop Lipcolor Stick in Headliner on the lips.

Not only is this a stellar matter lipstick formula but this product wears and faces like a champ. Through bao and some serious french fries I still had a damn near perfect pout. It didn't even transfer anywhere else on my face when I opened my huge mouth.

If you're in the market and you have the budget I highly recommend giving the Kiss Pop sticks a try.

So how did you paint your face today?