New Beauty Bits

Many of my posts have a theme, story or group similar products together, however sometimes I just love a whole slew of products and need to write about them. Hence these random posts with a jumbled bunch of products that I am loving and need others to know about. And that is still the number one reason I have a blog – because I just NEED to talk about the beauty products I enjoy. I can only call/text/email my girlfriends so many times about the same things before they are like “WE KNOW, MAREE!” Whoops. I guess I get a bit too over zealous. Anyhoo, back to my gushing….here is a look at a few products I have been enjoying a ton recently.

1. NARS Audacious Lipstick in Brigitte – I know it seems strange that I only bought one of the Audacious lipsticks, but there have been so many new lip launches that I knew I had to maintain some sort of self-control. As everyone has been saying, these lipsticks are truly gorgeous. Full coverage, easy to wear and incredibly long lasting. I naturally picked a peachy-nude-coral for my first one and it did not disappoint. The only thing that can be a tad bothersome on occasions is if my lips are too hydrated or exfoliated, it will not adhere to the inner part of my lips. I find this to be the case for many full coverage lipsticks so I often get around it by adding a few applications and then blending it in with my finger. It does the trick every time.

2. Boscia Tsubaki Cleansing Oil-Gel and the Deep Hydration Sleeping Mask – This was part of a travel set that came with a mini Konjac sponge as well. I am already a fan of the Makeup-Breakup Cleansing oil and find this Tsubaki cleansing oil-gel to be even more hydrating. The sleeping mask is absolute heaven on the skin and great for those nights my skin needs a bit of extra moisture. This little travel set actually came with a mini konjac sponge as well and since I know I am already a fan of them, I packed it away for my next getaway. It is the perfect travel exfoliator without having to pack my Clinique cleansing brush.

3. S.W. Basics Exfoliant – Though I appreciate all natural or organic products, I don’t typically gravitate towards them. However, occasionally one comes along that I actually enjoy. This exfoliator from S.W. Basics is about as natural as you can get – oat flour, almond flour and sea salt. You can basically eat it! But what I enjoyed the most about this was how calm and soothed my skin was after each use. Typically exfoliators can make my skin bright and smooth, but slight redness often accompanies that for a few minutes after. Almost immediately as I rinsed this off, my skin looked so even, calm and relaxed. No redness! This will be a winter staple for me, I can already tell.

4. By Terry Cellularose Hydra-Toner -After having the best experience with the By Terry Cellularose Brightening Aqua-Balm, I had a feeling I was going to love the Cellularose toner. This entire line is one of the most hydrating and moisture filled lines I have ever used. It truly feels like my skin is being infused with water when using this toner, and as I have always said – hydration is one of the biggest keys to great skin. It keeps skin looking firm, plump, radiant and fresh. I have tried quite a few hydrating mists and toners over the years and I can confidently say this is in my top 3.

I am already a Clinique Chubby Stick fan. Their Intense Chubby Stick in Mighty Maraschino is one of my favorite reds of all time. So I knew I would adore these new Chubby Stick Baby Tints. More on those in a bit. But the Cheek Colour Balms were another story. I rarely wear cream cheek colors because I don’t really like them. Every now and then one will be the exception, but for the most part I don’t wear them. Have you ever seen me review one? Probably not. So I simply did not try these Cheek Colour Balms for about a week after I received them from Clinique. I was being stubborn, but to be honest, I really like Clinique products and felt that it was only fair to give them a go. Ugh, I immediately began kicking myself for waiting 7 days. They were beautiful!!

They come in 4 different shades, Robust Rhubarb, Amp’d Up Apple, Roly Poly Rosy and Plumped Up Peony. The texture is not at all what I expected and applied a lot drier than anticipated. The reason I can’t stand creamy cheek colors is they are often too emollient and move around too much/end up looking oily/slide right off my face. These were a bit drier, surprisingly easy to blend and gave a natural matte finish rather than super dewy/creamy. Below are swatches of both the Baby Tints and Cheek Colour Balms.

The Baby Tints are super easy to wear, give the slightest hint of color and feel soft on the lips. The four colors are Coming Up Rosy, Poppin Poppy, Flowering Freesia and Budding Blossom. I find that the best way to wear them is often as a base for my lipsticks or even as a touch up during the day when my regular lipstick is fading and I want to extend the wear. I add the Baby Tints over top and it helps to smooth out the color and hydrate my lips. Below are my lip swatches:

My two favorites are Coming Up Rosy and Poppin Poppy, but they are all so sheer that they can be layered with just about any other lip color to enhance it. Both the Baby Tints and Cheek Stick Balms are now available on the Clinique website, Sephora, Nordstrom and most Clinique retailers.