SEPHORA LOYALTY REWARDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS - DEC 2015

Sephora Loyalty Rewards are finally arriving so start checking the mailbox and/or your email! The loyalty rewards are redeemable starting today, Dec 2nd and consist of $25 off purchase of $50 for VIB Rouge, $20 off purchase of $50 for VIB and $15 off purchase of $50 for BI (Beauty Insiders). The loyalty reward is good for a one-time use and doesn't expire until Dec 13th for BI and Dec 14th for VIB Rouge and VIBs (they're given an extra day to redeem theirs).

Here is a roundup of several beauty recommendations to use with your loyalty reward and a few items I am considering purchasing as well.

My latest makeup brand obsession is Burberry; especially their wet / dry silk shadows. I recently purchased three and am currently testing them. So far they have exceeded my expectations. These shadows have a silky texture and are incredibly soft to the touch. There are a total of eighteen to choose from and I am eager to purchase more. If you plan on purchasing any of these I recommend you do so now as they tend to sell out rather quickly.

For those that crave a subtle eye look I highly recommend the Lancome Auda(City) in Paris eyeshadow palette. The color selection in this palette is not over the top or super bright. It is more of a subtle wash of neutrals with a slight punch of color. This highly underrated palette houses sixteen gorgeous shadows with amazing staying power. See my full review and swatches here for reference.

A few lip products I have been dying to try are the Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro lip colors. They are a matte lip stain with a velvety soft texture. These are quite popular and over half the colors tend to stay sold out. I am most interested in trying 507, a mauve rosy pink and 508, a pink nude. Hopefully Sephora will restock these before the loyalty rewards end.

This next item launches on the Too Faced website Dec 8th, the Chocolate Bon Bons eyeshadow palette. The palette IS available online at Sephora during their loyalty rewards period. I have the original Too Face Chocolate Bar palette and it contains a mixture of warm and cool toned eyeshadows. While this new palette is rumored to be all cool toned shades. I've seen a few online swatches on Instagram and it seems to house quite a few pink shades.

My last two recommendations are the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette and the Marc Jacobs The Sofia Five Piece Petites Le Marc Lip Creme Collection. The first item, the UD eyeshadow palette, is limited-edition so I would purchase this now as it will definitely sell out. The palette itself was created and developed with Gwen Stefani. It houses 15 of her must-have shades with the majority of the palette being somewhat neutral. The Marc Jacobs Sofia lipstick collection is available in store at Sephora and consists of five gorgeous mini Marc Jacobs lipsticks. I own several of his lipsticks and this is such a great value for your money!

10 ROSE PINK BURBERRY COMPLETE EYE PALETTE - SWATCHES AND REVIEW

The Burberry Rose Pink No.10 Complete Eye Palette is a neutral pink palette. This beautiful eyeshadow palette is part of the Burberry Spring and Summer 2014 collection and is currently available at Nordstrom and on the Burberry website. Typically the Burberry complete eye palettes contain four eyeshadows - an illuminating base, two blendable shades and a liner. The eyeshadow palette is housed in a velvet pouch with three miniature applicators - an eyeshadow brush, a sponge tipped applicator and an eyeliner brush. It currently retails for $59.00 USD and it contains 0.19 oz of product.

The shades in the Rose Pink palette are: (starting at the top right corner) a pale creamy vanilla frost with a slight sheen and pink undertones. It is somewhat sheer but buildable. The next shade is a neutral creamy pale pink frost with a slight sheen. This shade wasn't as sheer as the one above and was almost opaque with one application. The third shade is a cool toned satin taupe that is quite sheer. It wasn't as pigmented as I had hoped but when applied wet it seemed to enhance the color. The last shade is a warm toned pink with a slight shimmer. This color was more pigmented than the others and was easier to work with.

This is the first Burberry palette I have ever purchased from this brand and it seems to be working out quite well. The eyeshadows are a little more shimmery  than what I had expected but they are still manageable. One thing I have noticed with the Burberry brand is that the majority of their products are warm toned but this palette is the exception. It is a beautiful neutral palette that is sure to work for everyone. 

19 MALLOW PINK BURBERRY LIP GLOW NATURAL LIP GLOSS - SWATCHES AND REVIEW

19 MALLOW PINK, a Burberry lip glow, is a bright watermelon pink natural lip gloss. This is a gorgeous lip gloss - the color is so beautiful. The formula is non-sticky but does feel slightly tacky on the lips. This nearly opaque gloss applies beautifully and when worn lasted about three hours wear time. It is important to note the gloss did have a perfume-y scent quite similar to baby powder. At first it didn't bother me so much but over time the gloss seemed to acquire a perfume-y taste as well. Personally, I couldn't get past the perfume-y smell and taste - it was just to overpowering. However, if you can get past the perfume issues (which clearly I couldn't) it is a really nice gloss to have.

Burberry 19 Mallow Pink lipgloss is available at Nordstrom and it is currently priced at $27.00 USD for .2 fl oz of product.

213 FIELD ROSE BURBERRY LIP MIST NATURAL SHEER LIPSTICK - SWATCHES AND REVIEW

213 Field Rose, a Burberry Lip Mist, is a natural sheer lipstick. It is the perfect combo of a creamy lipstick but with a lightweight feel and shine of a lip gloss. In other words it gives just enough color on the lips to enhance the overall appearance and also leaves the lips moist with an unmistakeable dewy shine. The formula is lightweight and non-sticky with a creamy texture. It applied with little to no effort, and lasted about four hours wear time. I noticed a slight dulling of the shine after the first hour but no fading or feathering. Also, my lips seemed to stay moisturized which was nice. Most lip products dry out my lips really bad so this was a welcome experience. If I had to compare these I would say they are similar to the Chanel Rouge coco shines. The Burberry Lip Mist currently retails for $30.00 USD and contains .12 oz of product.

23 ENGLISH ROSE BURBERRY LIP COVER SOFT SATIN LIPSTICK - SWATCHES AND REVIEW

Every so often I get the urge to branch out of my comfort zone to splurge on other high-end cosmetic brands. Here lately it seems as though the buzz has been all about the Burberry brand of cosmetics. Several people have been raving about how the whole line of products are wonderful and just so amazing. So I decided to purchase Burberry Lip Cover in #23 English Rose, a soft satin lipstick that is described as a soft mauve-y rose. The formula was very hydrating and seemed to apply almost as a full coverage lipstick even though when swatched it seemed a bit sheer. The lip cover didn't feel heavy on my lips and it applied with ease with no tugging or pulling of my lips. The lipstick case has a magnetic closure which gives it an extra luxurious look and feel. The selection of colors all seemed to be natural lip tones from nudes, fair to medium pinks, peaches and a select few darker shades. Almost all seemed to lean on the warm side with the majority having hints of red or brown undertones. I couldn't discern any noticeable scents, perfumes or flavors associated with the lip covers and wear time for #23 English Rose was around four to five hours with no feathering, smudging or smearing. I did notice a slight fading but overall it still looked fresh on the lips. The Burberry Lip Cover in #23 English Rose is a really beautiful lipstick and in my opinion was definitely worth the splurge!

Burberry Lip Covers currently retail for $30.00 USD and contain .13 oz of product. They are available at most higher end department stores and online at Nordstrom or Burberry.