Fragrance Free Hand Creams

Sometimes I imagine that I have a defrost room in my house. A small room to come into that's a few degrees warmer than outside but a few cooler than the next room. Then I could peel off outer layers (jacket, scarf, boots) and slowly adjust my internal temperature before getting into the warm zone. This is one of the disadvantages of central air. I could set it to be cooler than average so I'm not shocked into tropical paradise once I get in, but then I'd be cold in some rooms and overheating in others. I've been told that this temperature issue has no link whatsoever to the fact that I have a raging cold but it's an age old myth that even my normally practical husband believes. You have to be warm and toasty at all times or you'll catch a cold. I don't know about that.

One thing I am certain of, is that once I got the bug, I became hypersensitive to synthetic fragrances. Air fresheners, scented candles and cleaning products with masking perfumes all send me into fits of coughing. I don't mind a spritz of cologne here and there and lightly-scented cosmetics don't irritate my nose but all the hand creams that I had stashed at every sink in the house and in my car rendered me unable to breathe properly after I put it on. I decided to switch to using the new tube that I initially got for my daughter. Now we are both enjoying the benefits of the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream ($4.99) in the fragrance free variety.

Thanksgiving 2012

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I will be enjoying a few days off so there will not be any new posts for the rest of the week. I will check for comments awaiting moderation from time to time so feel free to leave them. I love hearing from you. As always, be safe! :)

Burberry Complete Eye Palette in No. 7 Pink Taupe (Part 2)

Burberry Complete Eye Palette in No. 7 Pink Taupe

So this is the second part of yesterday's post. I took a few more pictures of the quad and then I went ahead with the swatches. I hope you like sheerer colors because that's where Pink Taupe is taking us.

Burberry Complete Eye Palette in No. 7 Pink Taupe

Burberry Complete Eye Palette

I'm so excited to show you a few pictures of the new Burberry eye quad. There are a few different ones and not having seen any of them in person, I had a hard time deciding which one to get. After much deliberation, I went with No. 7 Pink Taupe.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios SX Daily Moisturizing Cream with Sunscreen (SPF 15)

I remember talking about some deals you can get on La Roche-Posay products last September. I got this tube of Anthelios SX Daily Moisturizing Cream for a really good price at a local CVS store then. It's almost funny that half the time I walk into CVS looking for something else, I end up purchasing something from La Roche-Posay instead. The brand has a phenomenal reputation. Its different lines beg to be tried, what with product samples, coupons and additional discounts. I've found that manufacturer coupons are often taped to the shelves at CVS and when combined with other store coupons, it becomes so much more affordable. At the moment, I'm all about that.

Laura Mercier Colour To Go Palette - Warm Neutrals

This is one of a few Laura Mercier holiday offerings for this year. Unlike the previous two that I just featured (the Cool Classics Trio and the Shimmering Neutrals Trio), this one is available at all Laura Mercier counters. The Colour To Go palette comes in two variations: Cool Neutrals and Warm Neutrals, which I have here.

Laura Mercier Shimmering Neutrals Trio look

Nordstrom has another exclusive Laura Mercier trio for the holidays. It's called the Shimmering Neutrals Trio. Although I didn't purchase this one, the idea is the same as the Cool Classics Trio just with different colors. For $50, you get two full-size eyeshadows: the Sateen Eye Colour in Warm Sands and the Lustre Eye Colour in Sundown, and one full-size Tightline Cake Eyeliner in Ground Espresso, all in a 3-well custom palette like the one shown above. Although I don't have Warm Sands, I do have the other two colors in the trio and this is enough to give you a sense of what the trio can achieve.

Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Eyeliner in Ground Espresso

Laura Mercier Cool Classics Trio

Nordstrom has a couple of exclusive items from Laura Mercier for the holidays: the Shimmering Neutrals Trio and the Cool Classics Trio which I have here. The Cool Classics Trio consists of a full-size Sateen Eye Colour in Sparkling Dew, a full-size Lustre Eye Colour in Rosewood and a full-size Tightline Cake Eye Liner in Violet Asphalt. The three items are in a 3-well custom palette. It's a $76 value going for $50.

Laura Mercier Cool Classics Trio

This is one of those times where it's easy to determine the actual value of the set since each item in the palette is normally $22 and the palette itself is $10. It's almost like getting one eyeshadow for free.

JK Jemma Kidd I-Design Eye Colour in Editor

JK Jemma Kidd I-Design Eye Colour in Editor

While out shopping at Target yesterday, I noted that a wide variety of products on the JK Jemma Kidd display already had clearance stickers on them. The discount is a mere 30% off but considering that the brand is probably among the most expensive that the store carries, it's enough to draw me closer.

Le Volume de Chanel Mascara

I have to admit I've liked Chanel's mascaras in the past. So when the Chanel associate at my favorite Nordstrom told me about the new Le Volume mascara and asked if I wanted in on the first few tubes that they would be getting, I readily agreed.

The tube itself is lovely. It's a departure from the old, boxy Inimitable package. Now we have a sleek black cylinder framing the white interlocking C's on the top.

Guerlain Parure de Lumière Light-Diffusing Foundation with Sunscreen SPF 25

After my family had come back from Florida in late summer, I felt like all my foundations were suddenly the wrong color. Interestingly, it wasn't so much the skin on the face that had darkened but my neck and chest. I blame the open necked top I was wearing to Legoland and the more than normal sun exposure I got there. So the challenge was to find a new foundation that would allow me to match my face to my neck and chest a little better but at the same time wouldn't look like a mask on my much fairer face.

Guerlain came out with the new Parure de Lumière Foundation and as a believer in the Guerlain glow, I thought that it was definitely worth a try. As I've tried a few foundation products from Guerlain before, I used 02 Beige Claire as a reference point when I sat down with an associate to find me my Parure de Lumière shade. We put it on and determined that it was probably a bit too light for me. I ended up purchasing 03 Beige Naturel but when I came home, I realized that the associate had mistakenly given me a bottle of 31 Ambre Pâle.

This turned out to be a fortuitous mistake and I almost believed that the cosmic forces had this coming for me. See, I had been interested in seeing Guerlain come out with more yellow-toned foundations as opposed to the pink-toned Rose line and the neutral Beige shades. It seems the Ambre line was exactly that. The only problem was that in the US, they only released the lightest shade 31 Ambre Pâle, which is too ridiculously light for me.

Guerlain Météorites Perles du Dragon Illuminating Powder - Pure Radiance

I bought it for the tin. There, I said it. Sure, it's been fun to dip my brush into a pot of pearls. That ever so subtle your skin looks amazing thing when you put it on - that's just a bonus. Because honestly, if you're not buying it for the love of highlighting, you have got to be buying it for some reason. I'm head over heels about the theme (dragons are a weakness, unfortunately) and the black and gold combination looks exquisite.

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in 817 Apparence

The Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Apparence is a shimmery gold shadow that's proven to be quite versatile for me. When I first saw it, I wasn't sure if it was worth the splurge. At the end of the day, it's another gold eyeshadow and I'm not always in market for creams, gels, mousses or cream/gel/mousse hybrid formulas because they have a shorter shelf life and I tend not to use them that much.

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Apparence

With the tiniest bit of hesitation, I went and bought it anyway and I was surprised that I liked it quite a lot. See, my usual criteria for such product demands a really soft, smooth texture that's highly pigmented and applies evenly. Apparence didn't necessarily fulfill all this because of its unique formulation. It looks grainy in the pot and I've heard that it can be patchy during application. But here's the deal, it's just the loveliest sheer wash ever.

Regard Signé de Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow in Harmonie du Soir

For the 2012 holiday season, the Regarde Signé de Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow in Harmonie du Soir. Doesn't it look so pretty? If you're not convinced, see the rest of the pictures below.

As if being presented in a sumptuous package wasn't enough, these shadows are smooth like velvet and pack creamier pigment compared to a lot of Chanel eyeshadow quads. The only problem is that you get a mere 0.14 oz. of product for a whopping $65. Would you cave?

Chanel Glossimer in Mystery

Chanel Glossimer in 357 Mystery

I'd like a chance to work a little longer with the Chanel Harmonie du Soir quad before writing the post about it so I thought I'd swing by with some pictures of the Mystery Glossimer for the weekend.

Guerlain Écrin 4 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in 500 Les Ombres Turandot

Guerlain Écrin 4 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in 500 Les Ombres Turandot

I hemmed and hawed over two eyeshadow palettes designed for the holidays. Chanel's Harmonie du Soir or Guerlain's Turandot? But my local Nordstrom seems to get Chanel collections really late a lot of the time. Their Guerlain counter is relatively new and despite being unmanned (it shares the space with Trish McEvoy but there is no dedicated associate for Guerlain), they got the Liu collection well in time and a Chanel associate helped me maneuver through my purchase. I ended up getting Turandot, thinking there was no way I was going to end up with both.