Winter Lips: Five Favorite Moisturizing Lip Colors

Winter Lip Care Choices(Clockwise from far left): Pacifica Color Quench Lip Tint in Sugared Fig, SUGAR Tinted Lip Treatment in Rose, Sonia Kashuk Shine Luxe Lip Color in Sheer Plum, Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Sweet Violet, and Too Faced  La Crème Lip Balm in Just Kissed

Winter Lip Care Choices(Clockwise from far left): Pacifica Color Quench Lip Tint in Sugared Fig, SUGAR Tinted Lip Treatment in Rose, Sonia Kashuk Shine Luxe Lip Color in Sheer Plum, Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Sweet Violet, and Too Faced La Crème Lip Balm in Just Kissed

I know I’ve mentioned here before that I deal with skin and lip dryness during the winter. Over the past three months I’ve been looking at new products to help keep my lips from chapping and peeling this winter and even showed a few of the above products in haul posts. Of all the products I’ve been trying, here are my top five favorites with reviews!

These swatches were taken using natural light, no flash

Pacifica Color Quench Lip Tint in Sugared Fig

This lip tint from Pacifica is something I use when I want truly sheer coverage. The color is a close match to my own natural lip color but with a small pop of brightness. It isn’t the best moisturizer out there for lips and it does require reapplication pretty frequently. But for those days when I’m not really interested in wearing much makeup and want something that is my lips but a bit better (and moisturizing), this is what I use.

Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Sweet Violet

This is far more pigmented than the lip tint above and it is definitely more of a balm in consistency. It applies both bright and beautiful, though it does require reapplication throughout the day. This balm is super moisturizing and can easily replace lipstick in my makeup routine.

SUGAR Tinted Lip Treatment in Rose

This is another sheer lip treatment but it is also very moisturizing. The color is nice but barely noticeable, and there are times when that is exactly what I’m looking to achieve. The formula is rich and has staying power; it definitely falls into more of the true lip treatment category for me with a bonus hint of color. This treatment also has a very pleasant, citrus-sugar scent that I love but others may not.

Too Faced La Crème Lip Balm in Just Kissed

I know I’ve spent a lot of time recently gushing about Too Faced’s La Crème Lipsticks; prepare yourself for more of that in the near future, by the way. When I saw this lip balm, I snapped it up like someone would try to steal it from me and hurried over to the check-out line. This balm is super moisturizing, moderately pigmented and replaces lipstick in my makeup routine when paired with a blended-in lipliner. I should mention that it does require reapplication but less often when I use it with a lipliner. It also has a scent that reminds me a lot of SUGAR’s lip treatments, which is definitely not a bad thing.

Sonia Kashuk Shine Luxe Lip Color in Sheer Plum

One thing you may have noticed, I don’t buy, talk about, or wear lip gloss though I have rather strong opinions about it. So, here my opinion is in a very simple way: I don’t like lip gloss, at all. I never have. However, this product is a very successful combination of lipstick and gloss that is highly pigmented, has crazy long staying power and keeps your lip moisturized and shiny for practically an entire 8-hour work/school day without grabbing and holding stray pieces of hair to your mouth (ugh, that is the worst). The color is buildable; I can keep it a relatively light plum-ish pink or darken it to a fully deep, rich plum. While I don’t think this product was intended as a moisturizing lip treatment, it does exactly that for me. Honestly, this is one of those products that has unexpectedly floored me. Every time I wear, I’m amazed all over again at how many things this product got right and further secures my ever-growing appreciation for the entire Sonia Kashuk brand. A+

As always, thanks for reading! If you have any questions about the above products, or product recommendations, please let me know in the comments.

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Top Ten Favorite Beauty Products of 2014

Happy New Year!

Unfortunately I have spent roughly the last month trying to fight off the same persistent, unrelenting upper respiratory virus. Like an awful horror movie franchise, it had three parts that got progressively worse as time went on. Let me tell you, it put a real crimp in my both my holiday plans as well as my blog updates. Thankfully, I’m finally feeling better and absolutely thrilled to start a new year here with you!

I want to start the year by reflecting on my top ten favorite beauty products of 2014. I also have a big haul to share so expect to see that post very soon. Hint: I’ve been playing around a bit with my skincare routine and am excited to share more about it with you.

So, without further ado– here are my top ten beauty products of 2014!

Number 10: Sonia Kashuk Liquid Line Precision Marker

Sonia Kashuk Liquid Line Precision Marker in 01 (black/noir).

Sonia Kashuk Liquid Line Precision Marker in 01 (black/noir)

Number 9: Clinique Cheek Pop in Plum

clinique plum pop 1

Clinique Plum Pop

Number 8: Too Faced La Creme Color Drenched Lipsticks

Too Faced La Creme Color Drenched Lipsticks in (right to left) Nude Beach, Naughty Nude and Bumbleberry

Too Faced La Creme Color Drenched Lipsticks in (right to left) Nude Beach, Naughty Nude and Bumbleberry

Number 7: TARTE Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Sunscreen

tarte amazonian clay

TARTE Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation in Light Neutral

Number 6: Urban Decay Naked2 Basics Palette

Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics palette: Skimp, Stark, Frisk, Cover, Primal, Undone

Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics palette: Skimp, Stark, Frisk, Cover, Primal, Undone

Number 5: Sonia Kashuk “A Powerful Pout” and “Jazzed Up Nudes” Palettes

Sonia Kashuk Jazzed Up Nudes Lip Palette (right) and A Powerful Pout Lip Palette (Left)

Sonia Kashuk Jazzed Up Nudes Lip Palette (right) and A Powerful Pout Lip Palette (Left)

Number 4: Napoleon Perdis Mighty Concealer Pen

Napoleon Perdis Mighty Concealer Pen in Mellow Yellow

Napoleon Perdis Mighty Concealer Pen in Mellow Yellow

Number 3: tarte Gifted Mascara

tarte Gifted Mascara

tarte Gifted Mascara

Number 2: Zoya Professional Laquer

Zoya Madeline Nail Laquer and Noir PixieDust copy

Zoya: Professional Laquer in Madeline and PixieDust in Noir

Number 1:  Pearlescence Longwear Creme Eyeshadow

Sonia Kashuk Pearlescence Longwear Creme in Moonstone and Quartz

Sonia Kashuk Pearlescence Longwear Creme in Moonstone and Quartz

If you have any beauty product recommendations for 2015, leave me a comment! And expect a new haul post soon!

Adie

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Aromatherapy, will travel: why I love the fragrance rollerball

Ralph Lauren, Romance rollerball

Ralph Lauren, Romance, Rollerball

I have a really big purse; it fits an incredible amount of stuff inside of it. One of those things is a re-purposed makeup brush bag filled with my favorite fragrance rollerballs. I don’t know how many rollerballs a person usually carries with them, but from the reactions I’ve gotten from friends– I might carry a few more than is usual. In my defense, rollerballs are multi-use items and I use them quite a bit this time of year, when stress is running high.

Adie’s Uses for Fragrance Rollerballs:

1) Rollerballs are great for portable aromatherapy sessions, alone or with friends. During particularly stressful winter-time seminars, I used to pass rollerballs around with my friends. Smell is the sense most often linked with memory and a quick whiff of a favored note can tame stress. Or rollerballs can simply occupy your mind with something less worrying while providing a much-needed break.

2) Though it requires serious supervision, rollerballs are also great at distracting hyperactive little ones bent on unintended but certain destruction. I have sat littles ones down more than once at kid-friendly holiday parties and asked them to line up my rollerballs from their most to least favorite scent. So far, most kids seems to find this to be a pretty fun task and their answers as to why they prefer one fragrance to another may be the most candid, entertaining thing you hear at a holiday party.

3) Using a rollerball on yourself leaves you with the possibility that you’ll smell nicer. No guarantees, of course.

4) Rollerballs are a great way to test out a fragrance before buying a full-size bottle. There is one particular fragrance that was popular a few years ago that after being on my arm for an hour smelled like a toxic rubber fire. Yes. It’s always a good idea to test a fragrance before wearing it out or buying a huge bottle (see #3).

If you can think of any other uses, let me know in the comments! Otherwise, here are a few of the fragrance rollerballs I carry around with me:

L'Occitane 'Roses et Reines' Eau de Toilette Rollerball

L’Occitane ‘Roses et Reines’ Eau de Toilette Rollerball

Viktor & Rolph 'Flowerbomb' Rollerball

Viktor & Rolph ‘Flowerbomb’ Rollerball

See by Chloé Rollerball

See by Chloé Rollerball

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Welcome to my: “It’s Cold, Dark and Sunday Night” Skincare Routine

Night-time Pampering session

Holiday Restorative: A Night-time Pampering Session

Are you in the holiday swing yet? With winter creeping up and festive parties on the horizon, I am already exhausted. Now that it’s dark before 5 p.m., even stopping by the farmers market after work feels like a chore instead of a pleasure. And I love the farmers market; it’s often the highlight of my week. Yet the drizzly weather paired with a blanket of early-evening darkness goes a long way in sapping my motivation.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the holidays (though I certainly won’t hold it against you if you don’t feel the same). But I can also admit that this is the time of year when I find myself getting run down. As a matter of fact, I’m currently getting over a cold that I picked up last week. Because I know about my tendency toward exhaustion this time of year: I’ve learned to let myself be exhausted. There, I said it. Experience has taught me that there isn’t any use fighting it as that only leads to further exhaustion. So, instead of pulling back, I lean in by doing a bit of extra self-care such as:

1. Drinking plenty of water
2. Making sleep a priority
3. Eating well
4. Taking care of my winter-time dry skin
5. Making peace with the reality that I am not at my best

And it’s amazing how a when I spend an extra thirty minutes on me, I get a lot more done for both myself and others. In the spirit of self-care, I thought I would share my It’s Cold, Dark and Sunday Night skincare routine.

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Spring in Fall: I went to Ulta and received zero deals on Black Friday

Spring in Fall (L-R): Palladio Herbal Lip Liner in Plum, Zoya Professional Lacquer in Addison, The Body Shop Face Masks in Seaweed Ionic Clay and Vitamin E Sink-In Moisture, Too Faced La Creme Lip Balm in Just Kissed and tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation in Light Neutral

Last week I realized that I was almost out of foundation and decided to go to Ulta. While there were a lot of great in-store deals and packages from different brands on Black Friday, I just wanted my foundation. And a lip balm and lip liner. And a new nail polish. And a couple of face masks once I was standing in line.

When I got home, I was amused to find that all of the colors I picked looked a lot more like spring than fall, which is just fine with me.

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