Dior '5 Couleurs Iridescent' Eyeshadow Palette in Tropical Lights

$58.00 for 0.21oz/6g

Dior eyeshadows are some of the best I have ever come across in my life, but the point stands that they are pretty darn expensive. As always I am not a shimmer- or glitter-lover on an everyday (or occasional) basis; however, on holidays, such as last X-mas vacation to my mom's house, I felt very inclined to "shine" in holiday spirit--which is easy to do around good company. This is the only eyeshadow I brought with me on my trip down south--Dior "5 Couleurs Iridescent" Eyeshadow Palette in 409 Tropical Lights--because contrary to the name it makes me feel a little more like going to a New Year's party than wearing this to a beach. Personally, I would go more for the sun-kissed, golden glow at the beach rather than shimmery eyelids; that just seems overdone to me.

Counter clockwise then center of Dior Tropical Lights with flash

A lot of the holiday collections from last year and this year have heavier gold tones which is a lovely thought but on someone as light/pale as me is just really fake looking. The frosty taupe and the shimmering brown in Tropical lights makes for a really flattering and gently smoky effect at night and the pale pink and green make nice color accents on their own or with the others, plus the frosty, pure white brightens the inner corner of eyes and the brow bone flawlessly. Do you think this has a winter or a summer holiday feel? I just can't tell whether I have a good or bad gage of this!

Serum Saturday: Aveda Enbrightenment Brightening Correcting Serum

$50.00 for 1.0 fl oz

It's been two weeks of lack-lustre serums for the blog, but hopefully we'll get out of the dumps soon, or at least as soon as I can get some samples to try some more. I'm really interested in trying the DiorSnow brightening products, but they are currently extremely far out of my price range (anywhere from $50-$125, YIKES!). One thing remains the same for Serum Saturday, however, and that is my never-ending quest for a hyper-pigmentation treatment that's worth its salt.

Enter Enbrightenment: a line specifically designed for reducing hyper-pigmentation and renewing that damaged skin to its natural healthy glow. Enbrightenment's key ingredient is naturally derived salicylic acid (a beta-hydroxy, if anyone's wondering) which increases the turnover of skin cells in the area of use. In layman's terms, it keeps your skin exfoliating itself so new skin comes to the surface. It's a very nice thought that such a natural product will do more to improve your skin than a synthetic form of the same ingredients, but my biggest problem with this serum is beyond ingredients--to get close to the results I wanted, I had to use the toner along with this serum.

That may not sound like a big deal, I mean, if you are looking for skincare that does something specific. Enbightenment Toner cost another $42 for 5.0 fl oz, which brings us to nearly $100 for results that aren't all that great for me. Yes, these products work, but I cannot afford that long-term of an investment at the moment. Because my skin is so oily and needs to be slowly transitioned to richer product (or richer products used only intermittently) my results will not be truly visible before I have to repurchase. It's just too costly for the time it takes.

One bottle of Aveda Enbrightenment Correcting Serum lasted me about three and a half months when used morning and night. Since my pigmentation comes from healing acne scars and I still break out, new pigment appears before I see significant healing or improvement of old hyper-pigmentation. The cycle makes the whole line necessary to really grab the pigment by the melanin, but the price makes it impractical for me.

Bottom line: worth the money for a more natural product that works, but not in my budget to use practically.
Beauty Newb Rating:✪✪✪✪✩
Available at Aveda and partner salons and spas, and online at Aveda.com.

Dior Put Me In Extase with DiorShow Extase Mascara

$28.00 USD for 0.33oz

I have family visiting, so I will make this a blitz-post if there ever was one! I first discovered this mascara last holiday season from a very expensive Dior palette which included six eyeshadows, a blush, a sheer powder, a beautiful lipgloss called Flash (seriously can't get over that gloss), and this little mascara. I'm excited to use the palette for the coming holiday season, because hey! it's still good stuff, right? and I look forward to buying a full-sized version of this mascara some day far from now when I no longer worry about spreading my resources across many, many mascaras....

No, you say? It will never happen, you say? Well, sweethearts, for this one, it might just happen!

without makeup

wearing Kirkland Mineral Loose Eyeshadows, e.l.f. Coffee Eyeliner, and DiorShow Extase Mascara

Dior DiorShow Extase Mascara is a lengthening mascara whose wearable comfort is unparalleled--at least in my experience. Since I started wearing mascara almost a decade ago, I've never had a product that caused no irritation upon application--zero around the eyes, in the corners after blinking, in my nose because the product smell is so strong, on the lashes because I have to apply so thickly--no irritation, I repeat!

I also find that this formula has the best results with the least fuss, i.e. a few sweeps and you're done really. I can see why this was included in a holiday palette, easy on/easy off and all. On that note, I don't particularly like waterproof mascaras because they are murder to remove; being the heavy, lusty lover of sleep that I am, I don't take kindly to things that make me stay awake longer, and waterproof formulas of anything really stay on far too long after scrubbing them for my tastes!

Lotus Bio-Mineral Pressed Foundation SPF 20

$30.00 for 9g or 0.32 oz

I bought this in Fair 1 to see how fair I could actually be considered, and sadly, I am this pale. I have stronger yellow undertones than this foundation does, and in summer I was most definitely too dark for this (can anyone say Fair 2?). However, it could be my powder foundation for the rest of autumn/winter easily!

Packaging: At first this gunmetal and silver compact reminded me of my Burberry foundation and eyeshadow (adore that packaging) but upon handling it more, it's not only lightweight but can feel very plastic-y in places, as though a good accidental ding might crack it. The compact does not come with an applicator and the mirror-lid is too thick to allow you to squeeze your own sponge or teeny-tiny brush in there. Bummer too. The powder can get kicked up when using a brush and if you don't use all that kick-up then the powder gets on the mirror when you close it. I, personally, don't think I'll be carting this around at all for fear that the powder will crack and get everywhere. However, this is far more convenient for me than the loose powder foundation--infinitely better!
(I've subsequently de-potted this and put it into one of my Z-Palettes.)

without makeup on skin (only on eyes)

wearing Aveda Apricot Whisper on cheeks, Aveda Amazonia Bronzer on temples and below blush as contour, Lotus Mineral Foundation, Estee Lauder Sumptuous Mascara, Aveda Shadow Trio in Twilight on eyes, and Dior Addict Lipstick in Basic on lips

Aveda Uruku Bronzer in 104 Amazonia

$24.00 for 0.3oz/8.5g

Aveda Uruku Amazonia Bronzer is a blend of a neutral, luminous medium brown and a redder, rusty brown shimmer that really wakes up my face. For all of my foundations in winter, I am so pale that without a little contouring I look as though I am about 1.5 feet in the grave, so something that catches the light and places with the shadows a bit keeps me feeling more among the living. Even now at the very last days of summer I find myself looking in the mirror, saying "good lord, where is my bronzer? I can't go out like this." Yes, my non-existent summer tan is more obvious now that the sun shines a little less brightly and radiates just a little bit cooler light; I'm out of summer-skin-luck!

top: the neutral, medium brown half of Amazonia; bottom: the rusty-brown half with golden sheen

To be perfectly clear, I certainly don't need to really layer on the bronzer to achieve the look I am going for in my day-to-day appearance, but I am pleased to report that Uruku Bronzers (both Amazonia and Brazilian Sun) have buildable and blendable color payoff. As always, you don't have to think very hard about how I most likely apply this (and every other product save for corrective color)...sheerly. I'm predictable that way. I am also so ingrained with the shame of having once-too-often overdone color in my youth (younger youth, that is) as to be unable to overdo the application in photos and swatches on my skin. I seriously freak out if color looks like too much on my skin, and now that I don't have the luxury of the first month of blogging, where I was at home all day and no one was looking, I can't really just experiment with heavier color and certainly not regularly.

Aveda Petal Essence Face Accent in 181 Apricot Whisper

$24.00 for 0.3oz/8.5g

This blush from Aveda features three separate strips of powder that can be used separately or in unison. While apart the colors could be a highlighter (the golden yellow), a blush (the peach), and a contour (the rosy pink), I prefer the simple glow that comes from sweeping over all of the powder and blending along the cheekbones. "Whisper" was a  good addition to the name because, while there is very buildable coverage from this product, it goes on quite sheer at first. Knowing me though, you understand why this is a bonus. Control in color placement and depth is crucial for pale skin--when you over-do it even slightly, it is WAY over-done and extremely distracting to anyone trying to focus on what you are saying or doing.

Aveda Petal Essence Cheek Color in Apricot Whisper (left to right: contour, blush, and highlight)

The staying power of Petal Essence Apricot Whisper is on the higher end for such a sheer product, or application in my case, with mine usually lasting until mid afternoon (so 6-7 hours) before I notice that I am looking a little sallow and need a bit of color to wake my face back up. Sometimes I don't reapply this color in the afternoon and instead go for something a little rosier; however, now that I write about the product, I realize I could just focus the brush more on that darkest strip of color for a richer, afternoon pop on the cheeks. It's amazing what you think of when you just pause to think something through, duh!

e.l.f. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Coffee

$1 for approx 0.04 oz

With how much I adored my Black liquid liner from the brand, I thought it best to add the neutral Coffee alternative to my makeup arsenal. Now, the main difference between the two products is that Coffee is in pen form and Black was in bottle form, but what a huge difference it makes!

without liner, wearing e.l.f. Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter

e.l.f. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Coffee

While Coffee may be waterproof and in a slightly more convenient packaging, the application is about 4 times more difficult, and I can really on speculate as to why. The pen-tip is the same as the small felt wand in the bottle version of this liner, but I find that the pen-tip cannot stay saturated with product for the full line along the upper lash. Inevitably I have to go in to do touch-ups but the line never turns out entirely straight and needs shadow over top to blend out the edges (since the waterproof formula sets/dries so fast). For $1, I live with it and use it to boost pigment beneath darker shadows and lighter liners, but the whole thing is still a bit difficult.