Kirkland Signature by Borghese Mineral Loose Eyeshadow & Mineral Eyeshadow Base

$17.99 for 0.53oz/15g & 2 brushes

At Costco, magic happens; there is really no denying that. You get to fulfill those long-suppressed fantasies of binge-shopping and have next to none of the guilt. In fact right now all I feel guilty about is not getting the anti-aging wrinkle defense serum in conjunction with my night cream, oh and I really want Fango--not a real reason, but it sounds like a do-it-yourself spa day in a jar.

But COSTCO, my love, this is a lovely birthday present for me! You shouldn't have! Count 'em: 4 full size eyeshadows (0.07oz/2g each), a full size/larger base (0.25oz/7g), AND TWO FULL SIZE BRUSHES. And honey, I've paid more for a single brush that's done less for me and my beauty than even just one of this seven piece kit!!! Lordy, my personal heaven has arrived, and it's a warehouse.....?.....

without eyeshadow or primer, only concealer

Setting aside my personal love for everything Costco, first, the two included brushes a perfect for use with these eyeshadows and every other eyeshadow you own. That's versatility for ya. One is a liner brush with medium firm bristles that will not scratch the lash line and have a dual fibered look (coloring, not composition). The other is a tapered slightly fluffy blending brush for both all-over and crease application, again with dual coloration, and both are fantastic at what they do.

Kirkland Signature by Borghese Mineral Foundation, Blush, and Lip Shimmer

$15.99 for 0.32oz/9g of foundation, 0.10oz/3g of blush, 0.09oz/2.8g of lip gloss

Mineral Powder Foundation SPF 20 in Fair/Light may have sheer coverage at best, but if I want a finishing powder with sun protection, which I really do for quick summer-time application, I can think of no better product. It is a bit of a shame that I would have to build up a bit of summer color with a bronzer in order to not look extremely pale wearing only this foundation, but I still love the lightweight feel of the formula. Recently, when I've pulled out my BareMinerals, I've felt it went on a bit heavy, and even using a light hand, started to look cakey. So far, no indication that this Kirkland Mineral Foundation will do that, and I also feel like it is pulling less moisture from my skin over the course of the day while still controlling oil for about 5 hours (really the best any one product can do for me in the summer).

From left to right: Lip Shimmer in Simply Radiant, Blush in Simply Blushing, and Foundation in Fair/Light

Mineral Loose Blush in Simply Blushing is one of the most universal shades I've seen in a long time. It's a beauty cross between pink, peach, apricot, and a touch of plum, and as you can almost see from the photo, starts to melt into skin more naturally than the foundation. I'm just stunned at how flattering this is. The mineral sifter container keeps me on my toes about applying in super thin layers, but the color can go on extremely sheer or bold and poppin'!

Kirkland Signature by Borghese Age-Defying Restorative Night Cream

$14.99 (may vary) for a .5oz Eye Cream and 1.7oz Night Cream

This is a very rich cream meant for all skin types which usually indicates that it shouldn't stimulate oil-production in combination or oily skin. This has a peculiar scent which dissipates quickly once applied. The Night Cream feels lovely on my skin and turns my skin matte seconds after I put it on. There is NO time that this needs to "sink in" or be "absorbed" before your skin goes back to lovely, hydrated texture, and that is my love-love-LOVE moment with this cream.

At no point did I wake up feeling like an oil-tanker had gone Titanic on my face, so for my oily skin, I approve of this soooooo much! Highly recommended. The thing that worried me the most about this is how much I was using compared to the Eye Cream. (Since I recently switched to Aveda) I can't say exactly how long it takes/took me to finish the 1.7oz jar, but I can say that the eye cream will last far longer for most people even when it's used twice as much as this Night Cream.

All in all, two lovely products worth every cent, scent, and disproportionate packaging amount.

Beauty Newb Rating:✪✪✪✪✪
This Night Cream comes in a package with Kirkland Signature Age-Defying Protective Eye Cream and costs $12.99 for both.Sometimes available online at Costco.com and at Costco Wholesale Warehouses.

Kirkland Signature by Borghese Age-Defying Protective Eye Cream

$14.99 (may vary) for a .5oz Eye Cream and 1.7oz Night Cream

The first use, the dry corner of my eye stung like crazy, but my eye didn't water. The discomfort went away after a minute or two, and my under-eye felt very moisturized. I can't place the smell of this, but it isn't really bad and dissipates after a few minutes.

Now that I have been using it a couple of months, I don't feel any discomfort and I still have over half the jar left. I can't say that the smell even gets my attention anymore, but it's something to be aware of. My under-eyes don't particularly look more youthful because I don't need it for that reason, but they feel far more hydrated; with use twice a day my dark circles have diminished significantly. I love this set, and it's worth a shot for the price, amount, and results.

Beauty Newb Rating:✪✪✪✩✩
This Eye Cream comes in a package with Kirkland Signature Age-Defying Restorative Night Cream and costs $12.99 for both. Sometimes available online at Costco.com and at Costco Wholesale Warehouses.

Kirkland Signature by Borghese Lash Defining Mascara

Part Six for Build*A*Look #1: Backlit Beauty

$6.99 (may vary) for two tubes of 0.37oz/5g

Costco Wholesale is both a blessing and a curse for me. While I absolutely enjoy buying way more for way less money, buying a dozen huge double chocolate muffins with chocolate chips for less than seven dollars has been less than kind for my waistline. However, Costco has been very kind to my skin and my beauty regimen. I've already told you the relative wonders of getting a quality foundation, concealer and powder set from Kirkland Signature for what amounts to pitlins in my over-done beauty budget and part of the story of the skin care range that gave me the first blemish and oil relief I'd had in over a year. Now it's time to hear more about how this wholesale empire is going to help me out as a makeup artist. Cue lights!

two huge tubes of mascara, yeh!

Part of the goal I had set for myself earlier this month is to organize my makeup collection in a way that would give me more of an idea of how much product (colors, eyeshadows, blushes, lipcolors, etc.) I have available for use on clients. First thing that struck me for hygienic use was that I personally had used all of my tubes of mascara, so I would not be able to use them on clients. Drat, because that's quite a bit of money's worth of stuff I will not finish in six months of use and cannot finish by use professionally. This is why Kirkland Signature by Borghese Lash Defining Mascara is going to save my buttocks soon, product amount for the price.

Mask of the Month: Kirkland Signature by Borghese Age-Defying Skin Renewal Mask

($16.00 for 3 oz mask and 6.7 oz cleanser, not shown) 

*price may vary by location, etc.

This is my FAVORITE MASK EVER. My face feels rejuvenated, clean, smooth, matte, and just plain amazing when I use this, and by that I mean immediately after and for the several months I've been using this. I'm sure that I will mention this many times, but I have never had a skin care system work this well for me ever...and in such a short time.

Another nice thing to mention is that for the price you are getting two more-than-full-size products that, at least personally, work fantastically. The mask smells sugary-sweet with a hint of citrus, which is a nice sort of aromatherapy to have while cleaning and freshening your skin. My face does not feel stripped when I remove this, AND more importantly, this is easy to remove and not gritty (huge pet-peeve for masks).

Kirkland Signature by Borghese Sheer Mineral Foundation Set

$21.99 for 1.0 fl oz Foundation, 0.42 oz Concealer, and 0.14 oz Finishing Powder

If any of you know of Borghese, the brand that does the Kirkland Signature makeup formulas, you will know that it is lower-high-end in price ($38 for foundation alone on average) but fantastic  in quality. I love pretty much everything Costco does...especially Kirkland Signature by Borghese. Haven't found a makeup or skincare product that didn't blow me away, whether by quality or quantity by price! For example, this set from the warehouse...

Kirkland Signature by Borghese Mineral Sheer Foundation SPF 20 in Fairly Light

This foundation has SPF 20 for sun protection during the day, blends smoothly (even though the color isn't a perfect match), and wears well with setting powder for over 8 hours. It has sheer to medium coverage, depending on how much you can use to keep it in line with your skin tone, but it is buildable. I like this about as much as my LORAC foundation, the difference being that the LORAC is lighter and matches my winter color better so layering works. This is going to be a huge staple for the summer; the color shown is Fairly Light.

Kirkland Signature by Borghese Mineral Sheer Foundation SPF 20 in Fairly Light

Kirkland Signature by Borghese Mineral Lip Shine

From top left to bottom right: Natural Shine, Nude, Bare, and Bliss

Budget hunters, I introduce you to an awesome way to get more bang for you beauty-buck!!! Hear ye, hear ye, Borghese makes shopping at Costco so much better for the cosmetic-obsessed and offers some magnificent options like lipgloss, mascara, foundation, and a full line of skincare products (almost all of which I own and love).

Always blending nature with technology, Borghese brings the natural beauty of mineral makeup to a new color collection. This lush, vitamin-enriched formula pampers and nurtures the delicate lip area, and is free of parabens, talc and oil. Infused with subtle color and shimmer, the finish makes lips look--and feel--perfectly natural.

Package comes with 4 colors for $9.99 (each gloss is 0.11 oz):
Bliss      a milky-clear gloss with white micro-shimmer
Bare      a peachy beige with gold, orange, and pink shimmer (looks like chunkier shimmer)
Nude      a slightly rosy beige with gold shimmer (looks the most shimmer-packed)
Natural Shine      a rosy mauve beige without shimmer