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Beauty Vixen

It is time to look at a few of the holiday option that Quo has going on this season. Every year they launch a variety of items, this year is no different, and I happen to have three to look at today.

Luxury Lipstick Wardrobe ($30.00)
This lipstick set features four stunning lipsticks in beautiful gold tubes. They happen to have a nice weight to them, which adds to their glam and makes them feel very luxurious if you ask me.
They all are matte, have a nice creamy texture to them and are quite opaque. Despite having mango butter in them, my lips feel dry the next day. I do find they have a great wear time as well as general feel to the formula.
One of the nice things about a set like this is that you can keep them all for yourself (what I am doing), give them as a gift for one person or break them up into little stocking suffers for a few people, which makes it versatile as a gift.
Hidden Treasures Cosmetic Crackers ($18.00)
Crackers are a tradition in many homes during the holidays, it is mine. These cosmetics ones made by Quo add a little bit more glam to the night. I personally love crackers but hate it when I get a lame gift, so often the get left at the table and tossed at the end of the night. Frankly usually we get a kick out of the lame jokes and me refusing to wear the paper hat (its not happening people). These crackers skip the lame toy, hate and joke and stick with a lipgloss and eyeshadow duo instead.
Non of the products have colour names, so I just grouped them as they are in the crackers. There is a matte cream and matte brown shadow paired with a rosy gloss. The next set has a shadow duo with a light champagne with brown shade with a with a mauve gloss. Finally a shadow duo with grey and taupe shade with a milky light pink gloss.
All the glosses are shimmer free and have a nice amount of pigment to them. The shadows are not the most pigmented, but that actually makes them good to give out since you don't know what everyone's taste can be like.
Soft Focus Highlighting Palette ($30.00)
Finally I am going to look at this brush and highlighter set. It features a palette with three highlighters in it with varying textures.
The brushes are amazing! I mean it. I have used the rounded one to blend blend blend away lines ever since I got it. I put on contour that is a bit harsh, buff buff and its gone. The other brush is just as nice, It has quickly become my go to bush and highlight brush. Both are incredibly soft and have won me right over, they are just fantastic.

The palette has a pretty leafy pattern on the outside and has a nice weight to it, nothing to heavy while not feeling flimsy. The highlighters are very nice, some more shimmery then others, but all apply really nice to the skin.
The shade on the left is a neutral beige, centre is a Pearl highlight that has a slight pink tone to it and the right is a golden powder. At first I thought that I wouldn't like the ones on the left and right since they looked too shimmery (the right one especially), but it turns out they look great on the skin and the shimmer doesn't come off too glittery when applied. The only real down side is that there isn't too much of difference between the shades. My favourite one is the middle one, there is just something about it that makes my skin look fantastic.
There are plenty of other fun new items in the Quo Holiday 2016 collection, 27 items in the collection total. I personally am eyeing a brush set or two brush set and the contour set.

Is there anything from the Quo Holiday 2016 Collection that has caught your eye?
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Ever since I coloured my hair purple (yeah for purple hair), I've been wearing more purple. It seems to naturally look good on me, and now it just happens to play up the purple on my hair, so why the not?
Since purple and lavender shades look just about good on every skin tone, I thought I would share with you some of the purple lip items I've been loving and show off some of my lipstick collection. 

I am going to show you the tube/sticks and then swatches below.  If there happens to be a blog review about any colour already on here, I will make the name of the shade link to it.

Lipsticks
Left to right in both photos: 
Joe Fresh Baie Sauvage (cream), Stila Gemma (colour lip balm stick), Bite Barberry (matte creme), Bite Mauvember (luminous creme), Buxom Swinger (cream), Cover Girl Vixen Violet (long lasting cream-gel), Maybelline Violet Vixen (opaque cream)
Left to right for both photos, all are from Mac:
heroine (matte), plumful (luster), Evening Rendezvous (matte), Plum Princess (matte), Rebel (satin).
Cubbie Sticks:
Left to right in both photos:
Bite Aubergine (matte creme) Wet n Wild LieLac (matte), Revlon Darling (gloss stain), Revlon Shameless (matte balm)
Glosses and Stains:
left to right for both photos:
Stila Fuchsia Vinyl (long lasting gloss), Joe Fresh Baie Sauvage (long wear liquid lipstick), L'oreal Berry Persistent (stain gloss), Wet n Wild That's My Jam (gloss), Buxom Pucker Up (gloss), Hard Candy Wisteria (matte gloss), Revlon Parisian (stain), NYX Sugar Cookie (gloss), Urban Decay Bittersweet (gloss), Almay Just Plum (gloss).
So there you have it, my purple lipstick and gloss collection.  Some of these items have been discontinued or were limited edition, but it is still a great look at how one colour can vary so much.

Do you have any favourite purple items in your collection?


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Sephora recently launched a Sephora Favourites set featuring some pretty awesome nude lip shades. While my nude might not be your nude or someone else's nude, I still think this is a pretty nice collection.
It turns out there has been a bit of misinformation out there about the sizes of the products and how many full and deluxe sized products are in the set. I took a look each lip products size (off the products labels) and compared it to the Sephora website for sizes and Canadian prices. The only products that threw me off was the Nudestix. It is usually 0.05 oz but the one in the set is 0.088 oz, making it bigger. Since Nudestix usually has a tin and a sharpener which are not in this set, I am just calling it even as a full sized.

The collection has in it:
  • Marc Jacobs Beauty Mini Outliner Longwear Lip Pencil in Prim(Rose) -Deluxe Size (0.01oz / 2g) $12 value
  • NARS Dolce Vita Lipstick in Dolce Vita - Full Sized (0.12 oz/34g) $35.00 value
  • Laura Mercier Crème Smooth Lipstick in Milky Way - Deluxe Sample Size (half the size of a full. it is 0.07 oz/2g) $17 value
  • NUDESTIX Lip + Cheek Crayon in Whisper - Full Sized  (2.49g/0.088 oz) $28.00 value 
  • Tarte Tarteist Lip Paint in Namaste Nude - Deluxe Sample Size (half the size of a full. It is 0.10 oz/3lm) $12.00 value
So that is 2 full sized products and 2 half sized products, and one 40% of the sized product,  not too shabby for $33.00 Canadian.

Tarte Tarteist Lip Paint in Namaste Nude:
Described just as a Nude, this one is really pretty. It runs a bit lighter then some of the other products in this set, which is good for pale old me, but might not be the best for others. The texture of this is really matte and light, a really odd thing for a lip product. The best I can explain it is like those Maybelline mouse foundations from about 10 years ago, but in a lip format  and with a doefoot applicator. I really do like the texture though, it is neat and totally different. It doesn't set 100%, like a liquid lipstick would (my morning coffee cup will attest to that), but it does set up really nicely on the lips and feels dry like you aren't wearing anything at all after about 20 minutes. It also lasts a very long time on the lips and doesn't dry them out nearly as much as a liquid lipstick would. It is so nice and really opaque on my lips.  I really like this guy and am considering get more in the future.
Marc Jacobs Beauty Mini Outliner Longwear Lip Pencil in Prim(Rose)
Described as a Coco Spice, this liner is really pretty. This colour really works well with the Nars Dolce Vita and the Tarte Namaste Nude, although it is a bit darker. It is smooth for a liner and definitely not stiff. It just glide on the lips.  I appreciate that is an automatic liner considering its small size and expensive price tag, no one likes to waist a good liner on sharpening. 
NUDESTIX Lip + Cheek Crayon in Whisper
Simply described as a nude, this one runs really grey on me. I sort of feel like I look dead when I wear it. I really love the thick and matte texture of the stick, but the shade just doesn't flatter me at all.  I feel someone with a more warm completion or a darker one would suit this shade just fine. I am just too pale to pull it off (NC/NW15 over here). I do like that it is so thick but doesn't accentuate the lines on my lips at all. I am going to definitely go try out some other lipsticks from the line some time soon.
NARS Dolce Vita Lipstick in Dolce Vita
Described as a sheer dusty rose this one is by far my favourite in the set. It goes on smooth and just slightly sheer that it really works with my own lips colour. For me it creates a "My lips but better" look which I always appreciate. With the Marc Jacobs liner it becomes opaque and a bit more bold. This is a full sized Nars lipstick which means it costs $35 in stores on its own, and this set only cost $33...so defiantly a good item in the set for me.
Laura Mercier Crème Smooth Lipstick in Milky Way
Described as a brown, this lipstick just goes on more opaque then the Nars, but much more brown. This probably would look amazing on people with a slightly darker skin tone then me, also on those with a warmer tone to their skin. I don't think it looks bad, I just think it could look better, less 1995...which I already lived through and I think I am too old to pull off now in 2016. I do like the formula though and am glad I've gotten to try it out. I might have to pick up some other Laura Mercier lipsticks in the future. 
Swatching time:

Overall I think this is a great set and can get a bunch of high quality nude lip colours for the price of just one lipstick. The Nars and Tarte are by far my favourite for my pale NC/NW15 skin tone. That being said I am still glad I got the set because I got to try out a bunch of brands and see if I like their formulas for $2 less then the cost of the Nars lipstick...so a great buy.

 The Nars lipstick alone is covers the value of the box, so if you like that shade already, definitely go for it. 

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L'oreal Paris' new Infallible Pro-Matte Gloss is the latest addition to the Infallible Pro-Matte line (of which I am already a huge fan of). The glosses offer a combination of liquid lipstick and lipgloss in an all in one formula that lasts.

Liquid lipsticks are all the rage right now, but they usually dry to a stiff finish that can and will dry out your lips like mad. If you dare add a gloss over it chances are it will break down fast, plus your might not want the glossy look. Two process long lasting lipsticks are great too, but they don't give the same glossy effect. These babies are thick and rich in pigmentation like a liquid lipstick but don't dry like they do. They stay on the lips like a long lasting gloss but are super pigmented. They also don't have a real shine to them like a gloss. The result, a pigmented lip with colour that stays put and won't feather.
They also have a pretty darn neat precision tip applicator that makes messing up very hard to do.
The colours are so pigmented that after about 10 minutes of wear they will stain your lips pretty darn well. Which I actually like because it means it really lasts on your lips even if the gloss part wears off.
They also come in some pretty amazing shades, 12 in total. From the extremely vibrant Fuchsia Amnesia to the more subdue Nude Allure, they all pop! I think this is because of how pigmented and opaque they are.
They feel soft and creamy on the lips, I also find that they don't dry out my lips half as bad as a liquid lipstick. 
So overall I find these balms, rich, creamy, soft and extremely pigmented. They last quite a long time on your lips and even stain them to a degree. I love their look and texture so I would definitely recommend them to anyone to try out.


*press samples featured, all opinions are my own
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Since I have been all about lips and holiday lip sets these last few post, I thought I would do just one more on a more nourishing and caring holiday set for your lips, you know, because the weather is getting awful out there.

If your anything like me, your lips get really dry, really fast in the fall and winter months. Wearing deeper coloured lipsticks and stains certainly hasn't helped them either, in fact my lips are down right soar this time of year. That is part of the reason a set like this is so great. Not only can take care and repair your messed up winter lips, but you can also add a pop of colour so you don't feel like your just wearing lip balm.
This set contains:
- 2.2g Sugar Rosé Shine Lip Treatment (a full sized is 4.3g and costs $26cad)
- 3ml Sugar Rosé Tinted Lip Treatment (a full sized is 6ml and costs $22cad)
It costs $23 and has a value of $27

The Fresh Sugar Rose Ritual Set comes with a Rose Shine Lip Treatment and a Sugar Rose Tinted lip Treatment in miniature sizes. Pretty much a tinted lip balm and a nourishing lipgloss treatment, both in a nice rosy shade. They both come in at half the size of their full sized versions, but for the cost of just one. So it is a good value for you money.

Since I have fallen hard for Fresh products this last year, to find out I also love the Fresh Sugar lip care is no shock to me at all. Part of what makes this set great is how fantastic Fresh Sugar lip products are, they almost have a cult following. Ans why wouldn't they? With ingredients like Avocado Oil, Jojoba Oil, and Mango seed oil there are some great lip products that contain no parabens, sulfates or phthalates.
If you are a fan of Fresh and their fantastic lip line, this is a great mini set for you. It also is great if you wanted to try a few items from the line and not commit to buying just one big Sugar Lip Treatment or Sugar Shine Lip Treatment and for a bit of a discount.

Have you tried any of the Fresh Sugar lip care line yet? What do you think of it? Do you ever treat yourself to tinted lip treatments?


*This product was sent to me for review. All views and opinions are my own.
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I picked up this Ulta Exclusive palette during my recent cross border haul.
It has 3 glosses, a mini mascara, 16 eyeshadows and 4 blushes. It comes in an interesting travel case that lets you pop out a quarter out of the box so you can take it with you. 
Essentially it has 4 shadows and blush per quarter. Some are quite shimmery and some quite matte. They can work together quite well within our outside its quarter. 
There are three Lipsurgence lip glosses that have names of french cities. I was actually quite impressed with how opaque they were compared to the Maraca glosses I got a few years back in the Carried Away Set.
Left to right: Paris, Cannes, Nice.
 On to the meat of the set, the shadow and blushes.
left to right:
Private Chateau, cafe for creme brule, tea for two, marvel at the Mona Lisa,
macarons for you, champagne and chocolat, kisses under the Arc, art in Montmartre and envisioned.
Left to right:
snow angels in the parc, navigating the Metro, might night stroll, liaison at the Louvre, intrigue,
Champs-Elysées shopping, stargazing on the Seine, Eiffel Tower engagement, secret soiree and limitless
 Ok, so other than the mini mascara that is the whole set. Below is a quarter in the travel case.
Pros:
  • Nice, nice set
  • Cute French names
  • Great pay off on the colours
  • opaque lip glosses
  • great for travel
  • great selection of mattes too
  • cute quilted case
Cons:
  • only at Ulta in the USA (feeling the French names are lost on having it in the USA only, just watch one youtube video of people saying nice instead of Nice or Oui all strange)
  • The box it is housed in is large
  • impossible to pop the quilted case out using the ribbon, you have to pop it out of the plastic which damages it
  • No bright shades, pretty much all neutral
Overall:
I really like the shadows and glosses! Really! I wish this was available in Canada, I really do. I love the range of textures and shades in this neutral set. I do not like the bulky packaging, where am I going to keep this? I guess the box looks nice on someones dresser but the gold detail is already wearing off the bottom. As well the caring case just won't pop out using the ribbon, nor the lip glosses leading me to question how long it will last and where I will house them.
But once again I really like this set.
Batting a Lash:
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Jill Oliver-Fox is a Toronto based beauty blogger with a love for beauty, food, and pets. She began the blog in 2009 and hasn't stopped since. To read more about Jill and the Blog, click here.

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