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.

Aveda Inner Light Mineral Dual Foundation

$22.50 for 0.24oz/7g (shown center)

Take a wild guess which color I am, I dare you! That's right, the lightest, 01 Cream...

Aveda Inner Light Mineral Foundation is a shock in two ways; one, because it has buildable coverage that I have rarely seen within the brand, and two, because it can, and does, last all day when treated correctly. The powder compact's formula is lightweight and can be applied sheerly with a fluffy brush for a slightly skin-tone-even-ing glow or heavier with a sponge to get concealing coverage that is at least medium. While this powder blends very nicely with other powder products, I have been unsuccessful in finding a good way to keep it from rubbing off during the day. Inevitably, something gets smeared on my clothes from trying to get an itch without using my hands or simply from pulling my apron over my head.

without makeup

wearing Aveda Inner Light Dual Foundation in 01 Cream (single layer)

Estee Lauder Mini-Haul!

This may look like a decent sized haul, but really I only bought two things: Equalizer Smart Makeup for Combination Skin and the full-sized Advanced Night Repair Eye serum I've been lusting after (yes, I bit the bullet after this month's mask post). I couldn't help myself.

Hopefully the Equalizer Foundation proves to be the EL foundation I've been hoping for for about a year now, i.e. an actual color match to my neutral/yellow toned, super fair skin. Wish it luck!

In this haul is Time Zone SPF 15 (day) and Time Zone Night Cremes, Advanced Night Repair (for face), Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara, Soft Clean Tender Creme Cleanser, Pure Color 46 Barely Nude Creme Long Lasting Lipstick, an eyeshadow quad with my friend Pretty Penny, and samples of Pleasures and Sensuous Nude (perfumes).

Gotten your haul on recently?!