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. 

Le Metier De Beaute's Eye Crease Brush #1

Le Metier De Beaute's Crease Brush #1

Le Metier De Beaute's brushes are not new, but they are new to me. I waited months before purchasing the eye crease brush, despite fawning over it every time I visited the counter. Once, I heard they were back in stock I decided to take the plunge and buy it. I already had the angled foundation brush ($50.00) that I use to apply my Peau Vierge and it makes application a breeze, particularly around my nose.  Based off that experience, I figured that my crease brush would be just as positive.

Recently, I have really gotten heavily into brushes and can appreciate them more than ever before. I am not sure you are always able to appreciate a brush when it functions well, after all that is the point isn't it? We all can spot a brush that just isn't up to par. The brush may be shedding like crazy, be scratchy, doesn't have enough give, or too much give...there are lots of reasons why you may need/want a new brush.

Like an artist, you only want to surround yourself with outstanding tools to achieve the finest look. If you want some of the best tools than look no farther than Le Metier De Beaute's eye crease brush. The brush will cost you $45.00 and is made from both pony and goat hair. The brush can be found at high-end department stores such as Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and select Nordstrom stores. They can also be found online at those stores counterparts.

The only fault I could see with these brushes is their size. They come across as travel sized brushes, which does make it easy to toss it into your luggage and go. They may be lacking in handle length, but the quality of the brush was uncomprimised. I keep my brushes in a Pyrex beaker (just like you would find at the MAC cosmetic counters) and along side my MAC brushes, these brushes tend to disappear amongst their taller counterparts. As a result, I ordered a smaller Pyrex beaker specifically to store my smaller sized brushes. Each brush comes in a velvet pouch for storage, but I find those to be pretty useless given the way I store my brushes (I like them to be out in the open so I can see them and it makes accessibility a breeze).

A great benefit to Le Metier De Beaute's kaleidoscopes is the fact that you can use one brush (in this instance their crease brush) to apply all four colors. It really does save time from having to switch to a different brush every time you apply shadow on a different part of your eye (lid, crease, the outer v, liner, etc.) The brush also feels nice in the hand and is of very high quality.

Overall, I really like this brush and would recommend it whole heartedly. I am always on the quest for the holy grail of crease brushes and ordered Edward Bess' Luxury Eye Brush ($40.00) which arrived today. I will do a future update to let you know which one I prefer.

Up-close view of the Crease Brush

My crease brush collection. From top-to-bottom: MAC 224 SE, Trish McEvoy #6 Deep Eye Contour Brush, Trish McEvoy #29 Tapered Blending Brush, Edward Bess Luxury Eye Brush, and Le Metier De Beaute's  Eye Crease Brush #1

What are your must-have brushes?

Chanel's Lotus Rouge Photos and Swatches

Sometime's you just want to paint the town red.....

'Lotus Rogue' 

I decided to pull a 180 from Chanel's 'Morning Rose' and go with a moodier, sultrier color also known as 'Lotus Rogue' (455). Lotus Rogue may not be the most summer appropriate color there is, but the weather here in Southern California is not acting very summery either so I think we're even.

I realize now after falling twice for lighter warmer colors and hating the results, that my skin color looks best in darker warm colors. A deep burgundy color is set off nicely against my pale skin. I wonder how 'Lotus Rogue' flew under my radar for so long? I'm happy to have this nail polish be part of my stash and I think it will be my go-to color for when I want an in-you-face sexy red! Even my hubby said "Oh, wow!" when he saw my fingernails (it was pretty cute).

'Lotus Rogue' is part of Chanel's permanent collection and retails for $25.00. Neiman Marcus is offering free shipping with code FSMAYthat is good until 5.23.11 a perfect time to pick up a Chanel polish!

A real strawberry to show the similarity in color

Up close view of the nails

I love the contrast between kitties white/gray fur and my dark vampy nails

I think in the bottle this red seems a bit burgundy, while on my fingers it comes off as a true red (especially with two coats for better coverage). Either way, I'm happy with the color and the results. A classic red + classic Chanel = beauty perfection!

Chanel's 'Lotus Rogue' kid tested, hubby approved. ;)

What is your favorite red nail polish?