NOTD Butter London's All Hail The Queen

I had been wanting Butter London's 'All Hail The Queen' nail polish ($14.00) ever since I heard it was universally flattering on skin tones. I had liked what I saw online and was eager to try it out firsthand. I'm pretty gun shy when it comes to buying cosmetics sight unseen, so I waited until I could find it in a store. The only problem was for months it was sold out where ever I went. Imagine my delight when looking at The Butter London stand at a local Nordstrom's a couple of weeks ago there was 'All Hail The Queen' and the tester too! Every once in awhile, I feel like the cosmetic gods like me.

With one swipe on my finger I knew that 'AHTQ' was a no brainer. It went on smoothly, dried quickly, and most of all I find the color to be sophisticated. Yes, there is shimmer, but in an intriguing "is there or isn't there" kind of way? Plus, it adds depth to the color.

All of Butter London's polishes are '3 Free' which means they are free from products that are known as carcinogens and do not contain: formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP (Dibutyl phthalate - a known cause for birth defects).

I think the color is perfect as a neutral for those that want a departure from baby pinks. I also like how easily this polish applied, seriously I found no flaw in applying it. I think it is appropriate for the office and would also look great if you were stepping out onto the town.

*As always I apply my polishes in two coats (unless it is unusually stubborn like 'Mimosa' was) with Seche Vite as my top coat and Butter London's Nail Foundation as a base coat.*

Can be purchased for $14.00 USD in high-end department stores (Nordstrom). Internationally http://www.zuneta.com/ carries the non-toxic brand.

So glad to have 'All Hail The Queen' in my collection, what polish would you like to add?

Edward Bess Luxury Face Brush

My hubby has come to accept the fact that Edward Bess is the other man in my life at the moment, and he is willing to share the spotlight with him. So my "devotion" to all things Edward Bess continues....

Sometimes in a post you just want to write..."I like it. Buy it. I think you will like it too. Period."

This is one of those posts. I will admit my interest was piqued while reading other blogs that began praising Edward Bess' Luxury Face Brush time after time. I didn't need his brush, I had a MAC kabuki brush, but felt like an upgrade was in order (besides my little sis didn't have a kabuki brush of her own, see where I am going with this?) ;) I also figured that many people and esteemed beauty bloggers could not be wrong in liking this product. I  decided to take advantage of Neiman Marcus' free shipping promotion and ordered Edward Bess' Luxury Face Brush for $56.00. Oh, how that free shipping promotion has a way of compelling me and my credit card. For example I will press "order" on lavish, luxury face brushes without proper awareness of what I am doing. *Cough* *cough*.

Edward Bess' presentation is pure class. His items are so sleekly packaged, you feel like you are unwrapping a decadent gift. The brush comes in a box and inside, the brush is enclosed in plastic covering. I read on theeverydaybeauty that the plastic covering can be used to control the bristles and makeup application. I thought that was a good tip to mention and pass along.

Comparison shot of the MAC #182 and Edward Bess' Luxury Face Brush

According to Edward Bess' website, this brush "is  expertly crafted with hand-shaped natural bristles set in sleek weighted metal for superb application." I am so pleased to have added this brush to my arsenal of beauty tools. I particularly like it for adding my current blush to the apples of my cheeks. The brush feels really good in the hands, thanks to the weighted metal and I look forward to using this brush more in the future to and play around to see what other uses I can find for this (I know it will come in handy for powder foundation, blush, bronzer, etc.).

Overall: I give this brush two thumbs up for its softness, for it's versatility, and for its superior quality!

Can be purchased for $56.00 at http://www.neimanmarcus.com/, http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/, http://www.zuneta.com/ or http://edwardbess.com/. In store it is available at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills, or Bergdorf Goodman.

What is your favorite face brush? 

Liebster Blog Award

I was fortunate to be bestowed the Liebster Blogger Award from the sweet Nat at Raspberry Rouge. I stumbled upon her blog awhile back and now it is part of my daily routine of reading beauty blogs while sipping my tea as my daughter sleeps. I love longing over the fabulous offerings that she has available to her in the UK.

I love what this award symbolizes. I think there are so many amazing beauty blogs out there that deserve more recognition and praise

The Liebster Award is designed to bring well deserved additional recognition to those bloggers with less than 300 followers. If you receive the award you link back to the blogger that nominated you and nominate 3 more blogs. So my choices are:

Renee-Hearts - she took a break from blogging, but is now back and I for one am so thankful she has returned! She has breathtaking photos -- I drooled over her Le Metier de Beaute features! Plus, she has created an even greater desire for me to own my very own Chanel bag (darn her)!

Makeup Magpie - I'm in awe in the way she can capture an image and her indepth posts are pure pleasure to read. I find her blog to be both informative and eye candy for every makeup junkie out there!

Cute and Mundane - Is a recent discovery for me on the beauty blogging front. Her focus is on great makeup that is cruelty free! As an animal lover, I really commend her for her stance against cruelty.

I hate being limited to just three blogs. I really would love to add more, because I read too many blogs that I feel are deserving of this acknowledgement. Please check out the blogs I just mentioned if you are not already a fan of theirs!

So a big shout out to Nat from all the across the pond "Thank you so much for presenting me this award". 

Edward Bess Storm Eye Shadow

'Storm'

Sumptuous. Luminous. Stunning. These were the first words that came to mind when I first received Edward Bess' 'Storm' (no.7) eye shadow in the mail (have I mentioned how Neiman Marcus' free shipping has been making me do bad, bad things?!?). I had read really positive reviews on this eye shadow ever since it made its debut a couple of months ago. Ever since I spied the first pics and caught wind that Edward Bess had released two new eye shadows ('Storm' and 'Mirage') they both immediately went on my "wish list". I normally do not like to buy makeup sight unseen. Call me chicken and one adverse to buyers remorse, but I made an exception with this shadow and am so happy I did!

With a name like 'Storm' you may be expecting a darker, moodier color. While I did expect a darker color, I am not displeased by this surprise in the slightest. In fact, this may just be my holy grail eye shadow (keep in mind as a woman, I reserve the right to change my mind at any time, hehe). Seriously though, the color is a gorgeous cool-toned light mauvey taupe. I find this color to be universally appealing to most skin tones and eye color.

Calling all taupe lovers! This is a must-have for you! I find the shadow to be so soft and blendable. I have nothing but love for this shadow.

I guess Edward Bess redesigned the packaging with this new-ish shadow. He dropped the square pan with a sponge tipped applicator and the name Edward Bess embossed on the shadow. The newly designed eyeshadow has a sleek "EB" on the outside and a circular pan with no applicator inside. I for one am not a fan of those useless "brushes" so that was a smart move in my mind. I have heard some complaints that ever since Edward Bess switched production from Made in France to Made in Taiwan, that the packaging somewhat possesses a cheaper feel to it. I cannot attest to this as this is my first (but certainly not my last) eye shadow, but I could not find a fault with this eye shadow. I love the staying power and how soft these feel.

Retails for $30.00 and can be found at  edwardbess.com or be purchased at neimanmarcus.com like mine was.

Final impressions? So glad that I took the plunge and purchased.

Do you own 'Storm' if so, what are your thoughts? What other Edward Bess shadows would you recommend?

How I Store My Brushes

My beauty essentials. 

Storage posts are some of my my favorite posts to read about on beauty blogs. I also find it thrilling watching vlogs on YouTube detailing people's storage solutions. There is something enjoyable about getting a peak into someone's world without seeming creepy or stalkerish. I also obsess about how I store my makeup and just when I feel satisfied I go back and fiddle with it all over again, it's never ending, I tell ya!

You all know by now that I store my makeup in my beloved (yes, that is not an exaggeration in the slightest) Clear Cube, but now I'll show you how I store my makeup brushes. This idea earns me zero points in the creative department as I just saw this at MAC cosmetics counters and blatantly copied liked the idea. I found the Pyrex beakers online at http://www.homesciencetools.com and promptly ordered the sizes I wanted. I went with the 400ml beaker for primarily my face brushes and some miscellaneous MAC eye brushes. The 150ml beaker is used for my smaller eye brushes (like my Trish McEvoy and Le Metier de Beaute crease brush).

I hope you found this post to be somewhat insightful and helpful if you were stuck on ways to store your revered makeup tools.

Look for a more in-depth brush review and post in the future.