Sephora

Happy belated birthday, @Brandy575 !

Lipstick 274: Laura Mercier High Vibe Lip Color shade Pop. Clockwise from top left: natural daylight (with a little warm lighting off to one side), public transit fluorescent lighting, and warm street lamp (outdoors) at dusk.I’m a sucker for fuchsias with a blue or violet flip. One of my favorite lipstick shades ever is Urban Decay Vice (bullet) Firebird, the 3rd lipstick I wore for this challenge. When UD reformulated their Vice bullets, Firebird wasn’t carried over to the new shade lineup and I was crushed. Then I tried the new Vice formulation and was doubly crushed because I don’t like it; even if UD ever brings Firebird back, I won’t buy it in that formula. (And no, UD Jilted is not a dupe. I’ve done lip swatch comparisons to prove it. 😅) Also, Firebird is one of my chronic bleeders: that bullet feathers and bleeds like nobody’s business. Still, I’m holding on to my old bullet until I’ve used it up. Last year, Laura Mercier introduced their High Vibe Lip Color line of slim bullet lipsticks. Shade Pop is an EXACT dupe (color wise) of Firebird! In a super comfy formula! That doesn’t bleed/feather at all! And it’s long wearing with a very graceful weardown and beautiful stain! I was super happy when I found this shade. 💜 I really should ditch Firebird since I have a perfect replacement but, well, nostalgia. I think one day I’ll finally get fed up with the bleedproofing required to wear Firebird, and then I’ll declutter it. Meanwhile, I hope LM doesn’t discontinue the High Vibe lipsticks or shade Pop.

@CookieGirl1 I got excited when I saw it cause it seemed similar to Tom Ford Ginger Fawn. It’s not even close. But it is a nice burnt red orange

Nordstrom and Ulta: I intentionally picked shades Sephora doesn’t carry, so I could use other retailer rewards instead of my most recently acquired Rouge Reward (which I’ll use for different goodies).Swatches & notes: SpoilerNARS Talc-Free Powder Blush shades Obsession and Teased - picked up these 2 “more pigmented than Orgasm Edge” shades for $0 OOP with Nordy Notes, so I can give this blush reformulation a fairer chance. Haven’t used either on my cheeks yet since I just got ‘em, but will this weekend. As a big fan of NARS’s former powder blush formula, I’m worried about how this new version’s performance will compare. I did do some comparison swatches tonight: these 2 new shades vs. 2 former-formula shades NARS didn’t carry over to the new line. I figured Tease might be close enough to Couer Battant to satisfy anyone who missed out on CB when it was still available. Obsession seemed closest to Liberté in the pan, but the swatch in person is definitely yellower than Liberté; still coral, just not as red toned as the old shade.Lancôme Lash Idôle Tint Ultra Precise 3-in-1 Metallic Liquid Eyeshadow shade 05 Sand Storm - curiosity demanded I try one of these. Thank goodness these liquid eyeshadows aren’t fragranced. 😅 This shade felt very lightweight on my hand and spread easily with the doe foot. My swatch photo includes a blurry closeup to show Sand Storm’s pink and gold pinpoint sparkles. Olaplex No. 9 Bond Protector Nourishing Hair Serum 3 oz / 90 mL - the brand was on sale at Ulta, so I decided to try this product. I normally use No. 3 a couple times a month (I’ve tried other Olaplex products and No. 3’s the only one I’ve stuck with) but No. 9’s new to me. It’ll be interesting to try! The Ordinary Retinal 0.2% Emulsion Serum 0.5 oz / 15 ml - Ulta had a point multiplier for the brand, I needed to restock anyway, and the price is low enough that I don’t feel awful about breaking my “stop letting point multipliers trick you into paying out of pocket” goal for 2024. I don’t know yet if this retinal will replace my beloved Avène RetrinAL 0.1 Intensive Cream; I need to get through a full ounce of TO’s retinal before calling it, and these tubes are just a half ounce each. I do really like TO’s though. It’s a step-up in retinal strength for me (0.2% vs. 0.1%) but my skin’s handled the intro ramp-up so well, I’m already at nightly use. shades Obsession and Teased - picked up these 2 “more pigmented than Orgasm Edge” shades for $0 OOP with Nordy Notes, so I can give this blush reformulation a fairer chance. Haven’t used either on my cheeks yet since I just got ‘em, but will this weekend. As a big fan of NARS’s former powder blush formula, I’m worried about how this new version’s performance will compare. I did do some comparison swatches tonight: these 2 new shades vs. 2 former-formula shades NARS didn’t carry over to the new line. I figured Tease might be close enough to Couer Battant to satisfy anyone who missed out on CB when it was still available. Obsession seemed closest to Liberté in the pan, but the swatch in person is definitely yellower than Liberté; still coral, just not as red toned as the old shade. shade 05 Sand Storm - curiosity demanded I try one of these. Thank goodness these liquid eyeshadows aren’t fragranced. This shade felt very lightweight on my hand and spread easily with the doe foot. My swatch photo includes a blurry closeup to show Sand Storm’s pink and gold pinpoint sparkles. - the brand was on sale at Ulta, so I decided to try this product. I normally use No. 3 a couple times a month (I’ve tried other Olaplex products and No. 3’s the only one I’ve stuck with) but No. 9’s new to me. It’ll be interesting to try! - Ulta had a point multiplier for the brand, I needed to restock anyway, and the price is low enough that I don’t feel awful about breaking my “stop letting point multipliers trick you into paying out of pocket” goal for 2024. I don’t know yet if this retinal will replace my beloved Avène RetrinAL 0.1 Intensive Cream; I need to get through a full ounce of TO’s retinal before calling it, and these tubes are just a half ounce each. I do really like TO’s though. It’s a step-up in retinal strength for me (0.2% vs. 0.1%) but my skin’s handled the intro ramp-up so well, I’m already at nightly use.

The 7 Virtues Vanilla Woods Eau de Parfum 1.7 oz/ 50 mL Eau de Parfum Spray KAYALI VANILLA | 28 Eau de Parfum NEST New York Madagascar Vanilla Perfume Oil 1 oz/ 30 mL

KAYALI EDEN SPARKLING LYCHEE | 39 Eau de Parfum layers well with KAYALI EDEN JUICY APPLE | 01 Eau De Parfum 😍😍😍

KILIAN Paris Vodka on the Rocks 1.7 oz/ 50 mL Eau de Parfum Spray 😍

I’m looking forward to trying KAYALI VANILLA CANDY ROCK SUGAR | 42 Eau de Parfum 😍💚

Warm Cotton x Clean Reserve!

Beautiful!