#beautyflatlay – Page 8 – Forty, Flirty & Fabulous

NARS Summer Lights Face Palette Review

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Hi all! Happy Saturday! I hope you are having a great weekend!

I’m back with a face palette review! I gifted myself this gorgeous NARS palette for my birthday last month. It’s the NARS Summer Lights Face Palette ($59 USD) and it’s available online at Ulta.com.

Here’s closeup pics:

Gorgeous! I like the packaging. It is simple and elegant. It’s made from sturdy plastic and it has a nice mirror.

What I don’t like is that the shades aren’t printed on the inside of the palette. They are on the back. The shadow shades from left to right are Rainwater, Hibiscus, Papeete and Hei. The highlighter is Paper Flower and the bronzer is Destination Unknown.

Here are the swatches:

I’ve swatched the four shadows first, then the highlighter and bronzer.

The eye shadows are my favorite shades in the palette. They are nicely pigmented and very easy to blend. I can make a complete eye look with them. I put one of the left two shadows all over my lid. The brown matte shadow is nice in the crease. The darkest shade is perfect to deepen the outer corner, create a smoky eye or use under the eye.

The highlighter doesn’t swatch the best, but it’s really glow on. It can also be used on the eye. The bronzer is light, but it’s nice for a subtle bronze look and also as a transition shade on the eyes. I wouldn’t recommend it for deeper skin tones, though.

I also wanted to share the free gift I received with this and share a tip. If you purchase online from Ulta, the are frequently offering free gifts with purchase. I usually wait until one is available to shop online. The gift this time was a free Beauty Bag with any $30 online purchase:

The bag says Talk Beauty to Me, which is so cute! And it has all these great goodies inside. I bought this in June, but they are often doing cute gifts with purchase if you are thinking of placing an order with Ulta. Also, don’t forget their points program. I’m a Platinum member and there’s always fun deals.

I do really love this palette! I think it’s great for travel and easy summer looks. The quality is great, too! This is my first NARS palette and definitely not my last!

What’s your current summer palette? Do you have any from NARS?

BoxyCharm Subscription Box Review — July 2019

Hey all! I recently received my July BoxyCharm! I always watch for the spoilers so I basically knew what I am getting. But, there were a few different variations this month.

I’ve been subscribed to BoxyCharm for about a year and a half now and really enjoy it. Boxycharm is just $21 a month for 4-5 beauty items, most of them full-sized. It is a nice way to try new makeup and beauty tools.

My version is 4. This month I received:

Koh Gen Do Spa Cleansing Water Cloths — $17

Elemis Superfood Vital Veggie Mask – $35

Butter London Natural Goddess Eyeshadow Palette – $32

Luna by Luna Lip Gloss in Venus — $18

Luxie Brush Trio – $30

Box value — $132

This is a really pretty summer palette! I love the wooden packaging and the nice mirror. The shades are mostly shimmer and there’s a couple of mattes. I didn’t swatch it because I don’t know if I’ll keep it or give it away. I’ve recently purchased a few palettes and don’t really need another one.

I love the packaging and the handles of these brushes! So cool and summery! The brushes are 246 Precision Crease, 250 Large Eye Blending and 510 Foundation.

I enjoy Luxie brushes. I may keep these or give them away.

I am very excited about both of these! I’ve been wanting to try the Koh Gen Do wipes. I’ve tried items from this brand years ago and really enjoyed them. They are all natural and look very fancy!

I love the Elemis products I’ve tried, and I’m excited to try out this mask. Maybe I’ll do it Sunday. I’ve been bad about using masks lately and need to get back into them. This is supposed to nourish, smooth and brighten, for softer, smoother, more radiant skin. Yes please!

I’ve never heard of this brand before Luna by Luna, but I really like this gloss! It’s hydrating and so easy for a bronzey summer look! I have received so many glosses from boxes lately, but I do really like this one.

I think this is a pretty great box! I will definitely use the gloss, Elemis mask and face wipes. I’m still deciding if I will keep or give away the brushes and palette. But everything is so nice!

BoxyCharm is killing it lately! Do you get this box? What was in yours this month?

Skincare Sunday — DHC Urumai Review

Hi all! Happy Sunday! I hope you are having a great weekend! I’m back with another Skincare Sunday. I’m trying to do skincare related posts on at least a couple of Sundays a month.

I have recently received new DHC products for my honest review. I haven’t tried anything from this Japanese brand before, but I’ve heard good things!

I received the Urumai line, which is brand new and has just launched on July 1st. This collection contains a proprietary rice peptide complex comprised of two hydrolyzed rice proteins that work together to condition and deeply hydrate skin, plus enhance firmness. Yes, please! Here’s what I received:

Tapping the power of rice, this plant-based trio beautifully brings together urumi (moisture) + mai (rice) to promote a soft, smooth and supple complexion.

That sounds amazing, and isn’t the packaging elegant, even the shape of the soap is so gorgeous!

DHC Urumai Soap ($14 USD) — A botanical beauty bar created with a rich blend of natural ingredients. Lathers up into a creamy mousse to gently eliminate dirt and debris, dead skin and excess sebum. Deeply cleans to gently prepare skin for the next steps in your skincare routine.

What I think: I haven’t used a beauty bar in years to clean my face, so this was interesting! It lathers up to a nice foam and is unscented (all of these products are), but it does have a faint soap scent. It does clean nicely, but it took a bit of work to rinse off.

DHC Urumai Lotion ($25 USD) — An alcohol-free facial toning lotion that promotes vibrant, soft and beautiful skin. Created with rice peptides and sake, this pre-moisturizing toner combats damage from dryness and environmental stresses to revitalize the skin.

What I think: I love that this doesn’t contain alcohol or irritate my sensitive skin. It feels nice on the skin and is lightly hydrating. It does give a glow, which is nice under makeup.

DHC Urumai Cream ($29 USD) — A lightweight facial cream that promotes a beautiful complexion for all skin types. Formulated with DHC exclusive rice peptide complex, this hydrating cream unlocks the power of rice to help promote turnover and minimize the appearance of fine lines.

What I think: This is a very hydrating cream! I like this as a night cream, because it is pretty thick and moisturizing. It’s not greasy, but it does take a little bit of time to sink in. When I use this at night, in the morning my skin is glowing! I have notices that my fine lines have been reduced and that my skin is smoother.

I am really enjoying these products!

Purchase at DHCCare.com. And right now, they are having a deal that you receive free shipping if you purchase a full size Urumai collection products with the code URUMAI.

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Have you tried DHC skincare? What do you think of these products?

Brand Review — RAD Soap Co.

Hi all! I’m back with a sweet-smelling brand review!

RAD Soap Co. is a natural skincare line made fresh in Upstate New York and inspired by hemp beauty. Using their RAD proprietary process and main ingredient hemp with botanical extracts to create the world’s best bar of soap.

The two soaps I have received for review are:

Moon Rock Body Bar — A Rad body bar infused with Activated Charcoal and Black Currant Oil to fight troublesome skin for a flawless complexion.

Toke Natural Body Bar — A Rad body bar infused with Hemp Seed Oil and the ultimate hippie’s scent of Sandalwood and Vanilla.

What I think: These both smell amazing! The Moon Rock bar is great for the summer. My skin gets oilier, and breakouts do happen on my body. This really helps. Plus, I love the scent!

The Toke Bar has a more natural scent — very hippie friendly! LOL! It’s very nice to keep in the bath as well.

RAD has also just launched their new bar soap club subscription. You can get one bar for $10, two bars for $20 and three bars for $25. Each box also includes two mystery gifts. You can also choose to have it delivered every one, two or three months. And finally, you can choose your soaps. So it’s very customizable.

Check it all out at http://www.radsoap.com

I really enjoy this brand! What bath and body brands do you love?

New Lippies Review!

Hi all! Happy 4th of July! I hope your day is going well. It’s storming in Kansas City today, but hopefully it will stop before evening, for fireworks!

I have recently received some new lippies from Em Cosmetics, PUR cosmetics and MGS Accessories for my honest review. The packaging on all of these are gorgeous, so I thought I would review them together — so much fun!

From top to bottom:

Em Cosmetics Infinite Lip Cloud ($20) — A velvety, air-whipped crème that glides on, and saturates lips in rich color. This non-drying liquid lipstick was created by blending the lip-cocooning, line-filling properties of a lip primer with the color saturation of lipstick. The shades from top are Faded Clementine and French Nude

Pur Cosmetics Out of the Blue Light Up High Shine Lip Gloss ($18 USD) — Pucker up to kissable lips with highly pigmented, Light Up High Shine Lip Gloss with blue light defense… wear alone or layered over lipstick to add a touch of mesmerizing shine. The shades are in the middle and are Focused and Goals

MGS Beauty Matte Liquid Lipsticks ($20 USD) — These are long lasting and are nourishing with Vitamin E and Jojoba Oil. Each of MGS Accessories products are vegan and cruelty-free. The shades are on the bottom and are Natural and Peachy

From left to right — Em Cosmetics in Faded Clementine and French Nude. PUR in Focused and Goals and MGS in Natural and Peachy.

The Em Cosmetics Infinite Cloud lipsticks are a very nice formula. They are very light on the lips, when I apply them it almost feels like nothing is on. They dry down all of the way. They are a little drying on, but they are not uncomfortable. They are very long lasting and gorgeous on!

The MGS Accessories Matte Liquid Lipsticks is a thicker formula than the Em Cosmetics. It takes a little longer to dry down, but when it does it’s a very nice formula. It’s a little drying but it lasts all day! I love wearing glosses over all liquid lipstick, because as an aging woman, you can really see my lip lines with them. I’m happy to say both of these formulas work really well with lip gloss over them.

Speaking of glosses, the PUR Cosmetics glosses are so nice! They aren’t sticky and feel very hydrating on. The two I received have a bit of sparkle to them. There are two others that don’t have glitter, if you like that better. There is a button on the lid of these that lights up the wand for easy application and there’s a mirror on the side of them. Very fun!

I’m enjoying all of these products and will continue to use them!

What new lip products are you loving? Let me know so I can check them out!

Shop My Stash June 2019 Results and Monthly Empties

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Hi All! I’m back with my JuneShop My Stash results! I enjoy dipping into my collection and using products I haven’t used in a long time, or just haven’t given much of a chance.

My rule with this is if I don’t like the item after the month, I will move it out of my collection to make some room and let someone else enjoy it!

You can check out my first Shop My Stash post for June. Here’s a photo with the palettes open:

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My allergies were much better in June, so I have been wearing eye makeup again! My most used of the two palettes was the ABH Soft Glam. Every time I use it I remember how gorgeous it is! They blend so well.

I also used the Too Faced Festival palette a few times. I love the peaches and purple shades. I also wore the green shade a lot. The shimmer shades in the palette are so pretty!

It’s sad to say that I only used the ColourPop The Twins pigment once — on my birthday! I usually like to use palettes for complete looks. It is very pretty though.

The PixiGlow palette got lots of use. I used it for bronzer, blush and highlight by dipping into the corresponding parts of it.

I am keeping all of these products except for the ColourPop So Juicy lip gloss. It is so sticky, that I don’t really enjoy using it. I’ll see if my daughter wants it.

On to my June empties:

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I had a lot of empties this month! Mostly skincare, as always! I enjoyed all of these products.

I would repurchase every one of these products except for maybe the CO Bigelow hand soap, because it was very creamy and hard to rinse off. I loved all of the other products!

The CoverFX primer filled my pores completely. Another favorite would be the GM Collin serum, it is so hydrating.

This was a successful Shop My Stash! I used all of the products at least once, and enjoyed discovering them again!

Are you doing a Shop Your Stash or are you on a low or no buy? How’s it going?

Brand Review and Code — Skin&Co Roma

Hi all! I recently received a fun skincare package from Skin&Co Roma for my honest review.

Such pretty packaging! I’ve been loving the Skin&Co Roma Truffle Therapy Refresh Mist I received in my June BoxyLuxe. Skin&Co Roma contacted me and asked to send me the following amazing products for review:

Truffle Therapy Face Toner — Gentle, powerful, soothing, and healing. Truffle Therapy Face Toner deeply cleanses and purifies pores with the antiseptic power of Witch Hazel and Sage, effectively removing impurities, clogged pores and dead skin cells to treat, heal, and prevent blemishes. The natural extracts and antioxidant properties of Black Winter Truffle, Rosemary, Calendula, and Cucumber soothes and protects from environmental and free radical damage.

What I think: I have very sensitive skin, and this gentle toner doesn’t irritate my skin at all. I use it after my cleanser, and it really cleans out my pores plus it leaves my skin soft and smooth!

Truffle Therapy Whipped Cleansing Cream – This is a highly concentrated gel-crème cleanser formulated to deeply cleanse skin, remove makeup, dirt and impurities, effectively keeping pores free and clear from congestion and blemishes while soothing and calming sensitivity-prone complexions. Formulated with pure Black Winter Truffle Extract, Sweet Almond Oil, Mallow Leaf, and Chamomile, this gentle cleanser delivers intense hydration, nourishing moisture, while improving skin’s resilience and tone. Complete with essential fatty acids, skin’s natural moisture barrier is restored to maintain a supple and radiant complexion.

What I think: I am enjoying all of these products, but this one is my favorite of the bunch! Everytime I wash my face with this cleanser, it looks smooth, fresh and it glows. And I look YOUNGER! I have never looked this good with just washing my face, ever! It does have a soft, whipped texture and feels so gentle while cleansing my skin. And it doesn’t irritate my skin at all. LOVE!

Truffle Therapy Serum – Formulated around the antioxidant properties of the Black Winter Truffle, Truffle Therapy™ Serum is infused with potent skin-renewing botanicals, vitamins, essential fatty acids and vitamins to restore skin’s natural vibrancy and radiance. Masterfully crafted in Umbria, Italy, this powerful, multitasking skin perfecting treatment soothes and refines the appearance of uneven textured skin, revealing a healthier complexion.

Ideal for all skin types, Truffle Therapy™ Serum prepares and protects skin from daily environmental and free radical damage, and doubles as a primer to create the perfect base for makeup application.

What I think: I really enjoy this serum. It has a milky texture and a soft, natural scent. I apply it after my toner and it really smooths out my skin and helps with texture. It can also be used as a primer, for those days that you want an easy skincare/makeup routine. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks and find that my skin is looking more even and brighter. I’m looking forward to seeing what type of long-term results I see!

I am really loving these Skin&Co Roma products! You can purchase the items here, and by using my code LORENA20, you’ll get 20% off your purchase! It is an affiliate code, so I will get something if you do buy!

Have you tried Skin&Co Roma? Which products do you like from the brand?

June 2019 Beauty Favorites

Hi All! June is almost over — we are halfway through 2019! That’s so crazy! 2019 is zipping by.

Here are my beauty faves for June. As usual, If I have reviewed them before, I will include the link, if not, I will link to where you can purchase:

I don’t have a lot of color cosmetic favorites. I’ve been really into making my skin look flawless! Plus, four of the products are from my June BoxyLuxe — The Farmacy serum, the Skin&Co spray, Touch in Sol primer and the Dominique Cosmetics gloss. It was such a great box this month!

These products have helped my skin glow this month! The Farmacy Honeymoon Glow Serum has made my skin look smoother. I use it a few times a week at night for resurfacing.

I use the the L&I Apothecary Rose Facial Toner in the morning and evening after I wash my face. It hydrates and makes my skin glow!

I love setting my makeup with the Skin&Co Roma Truffle Therapy Radiant Dew Mist. It gives a soft glow to the face and some extra skincare benefits while setting my makeup!

I wasn’t sure about the Touch in Sol No Poreblem Prime Essence, but I really love it. I apply it all over and let it set for a few minutes. It helps my skin look smooth and it leaves it a bit tacky, which helps grip the foundation and make it last!

The Moroccanoil Treatment Original was in my June Allure Beauty Box. I haven’t tried it in years. I forgot how nice it is. It smooths my hair without making it greasy and it smells amazing!

I hadn’t tried anything form Dominique Cosmetics, and was excited to try the Dominique Cosmetics Lemonade Lip Gloss. It’s so good! It’s a really gorgeous peachy shade that I have been wearing all the time! It’s so summery. And the formula is hydrating, not sticky.

Last but not least is this gorgeous eyeshadow palette! It’s the Natasha Denona Sunrise Eyeshadow Palette. I’ve only had it for a couple of weeks. It was a birthday gift to myself!

I had to put it in this roundup, because it’s been the palette I have been wanting to use! The quality is so wonderful — it really is a luxe palette!

So that is my June favorites round ups! What did you love in June?

Morgan Taylor Lacquer Rocketman Summer 2019 Collection

Hi all! I hope your Monday is going well!

I received some fun products for my honest review from the Morgan Taylor Lacquer Rocketman Summer 2019 Collection. These beautiful brights polishes work so well with the fun new Elton John movie!

Morgan Taylor Rocketman

This adorable mini set is the Rocketman Nail Laquer Mini 4 Pack ($14.95 USD) — In celebration of Rocketman, the story of Elton John’s rise to fame. The collection features iconic shades complemented by Bedazzle Me, a luxe glitter overlay that gives each shade its own moment to sparkle and shine.

This mini pack:
It’s The Shades (hot pink crème)
Tickle My Keys (bright pink crème)
Sir Teal To You (teal shimmer)
Bedazzle Me (glitter overlay)

I love this little set! It’s great for trying out the Morgan Taylor formula in a few different shades or just for a fun treat for yourself or a gift for someone who loves polish — and Elton John.

Here are the polishes in the collection:

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Just Me & My Piano – Purple Crème
Sir Teal To You – Teal Shimmer
Put On Your Dancin’ Shoes – Red Crème
It’s The Shades – Hot Pink Crème
Tickle My Keys – Bright Pink Crème
Glow Like A Star – Yellow Crème
Bedazzle Me (below) – Glitter Overlay

This shade looks gorgeous over all of the other shades in the collection!

The full size polishes retail for $9.50. They are available at Ulta.com and SaltEarthSpa.com. All Morgan Taylor Lacquers are fast-drying, 5-free and easy to apply. I definitely recommend these polishes!

Have you seen Rocketman? What do you think of this collection?

Skincare Sunday — Julep Korean Skincare Made Simple Set

Hi all! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Welcome to my second Skincare Sunday in a row!

I recently purchased a new Korean skincare set from Julep. I used to be a Julep Maven, which was their monthly subscription box, but they cancelled it in February.

I received an email a month or so ago saying that they were having a final sale for Mavens. I saw this set, and was really interested in it. It was originally priced at $76 and it was marked down to $57, and I got 70% off so I only paid $17.10! Here’s the set:

Julep Korean Skincare Made Simple

Set includes:

Travel Love Your Bare Face Hydrating Cleansing Oil, 1.5 fl oz.
Kaolin Clay Konjac Sponge (full size)
What Your Skin Needs Restorative Facial Milk 1 fl. oz. (full size)
Night Shift Deep Sleep Mask 1 oz.

Here’s photos of the box and the products I received:

This is a great deal for $17.10! I have tried the cleansing oil and the facial milk before and love both of them. The cleansing oil removes all of my makeup and leaves my skin soft and clean. The facial milk contains five oils in it, but because of the milky formula, it absorbs into the skin immediately.

I haven’t used a konjac sponge before and was surprised how soft it is. It gives a very gentle exfoliation. The Night Shift sleep mask can be used over serums and treatments. And it’s washed off in the morning. I find it gives extra hydration, which is nice when my skin is dry.

This set is on sale now for $44. It’s not the price I paid, but it is still a good deal for what you get. I do recommend this set if you would like to try Korean beauty skincare for hydration.

Were you a Julep Maven? Have you tried their products before?