Hourglass Visionaire Eye Shadow Duo in "Gypsy"

Price: $38 for 2 x 0.10 oz. from Sephora

The Hourglass eyeshadow formula is another one of my favorites. It has everything I want in a powder shadow-- buttery, opaque, creamy, blendable, pigmented, and luxurious. This applies evenly and easily with brushes or fingers, lasts all day, and doesn't crease (I use a primer, as always). I can use one duo for my whole eye look... I'm in love! I really wish there was a bigger shade range as this was really the only duo that I felt I would get daily use out of although both "Suede" and "Exhibition" look tempting. Hourglass does have a larger, 6-shade palette (5 matte, 1 shimmer) for sale at SpaceNK and Barneys for $58, making it a much better value, however, I'm only a fan of the lighter shades. If you want to see an amazing post on it, check out this mini review on SweetMakeupTemptations (one of my favorite blogs). 

Review: Hourglass Femme Nude Lip Stylo in "Nude No. 6"

Price: $30 from Sephora

First of all, I really love Hourglass. Some of their offerings are definitely in my short list of holy grail products. So when I heard about their summer launch of nude lipsticks, I was definitely interested. The Femme Nude Lip Stylo's claim to be full-coverage, satin lipsticks with a "nude for every mood" and skin-tone.

There are six shades in the range with the basic principal of "the darker the shade, the darker the skin-tone". Many of the reviews on Sephora recommended that everyone (even those with fair skin) should go for the darker shades to avoid looking dead. So, I decided to pick the darkest of the lot--which I can now admit was a stupid choice. No. 6 is described as a "deep mauve nude". I found it to be quite a brown mauve which I'm sure would look good on someone, but that person just isn't me. I would describe it as an unflattering "my lips but browner" shade that makes my teeth look yellow. But again, I definitely picked the wrong shade.

In terms of the formula, it's alright. I totally agree that it has a satin finish, lasts for about 4 hours, isn't drying or especially hydrating, and doesn't overly emphasize lines or textural problems on the lips. What I really can't stand is the smell. It smells like expired/cheap lipstick. I have a few Estee Lauder lipsticks that I've kept for sentimental reasons, which were a hand-me-down from my mom (circa 1997) that smell the exact same. I don't believe there's any added fragrance in the Hourglass lipstick, but it's just so off-putting it totally negates the expensive-feeling packaging.

The Used: Products I'm Chucking Out

A majority of the products I'm chucking out are cosmetics-- which should (hopefully) justify the  upcoming haul post. Everything here is either embarrassingly beyond the expiration date, empty, or just so bad I wouldn't even feel right even giving away. Unfortunately, only three of the things I'm throwing out will be repurchased. Hopefully though, it's still helpful to you.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Enhancer in 30/Light to Neutral: My dog clearly enjoyed this a lot but I just felt kind of neutral about it. It wasn't bad, but I didn't reach for it a lot in the four years that I had it. It was just a few years beyond the expiration date and definitely time to say goodbye.

Clinique Moisture Sheer Tint SPF 15 in fair: I pretty much used this product exclusively through high school and college in addition to Clinique's 3-Step Program; which usually only ended up being one step, at best. Anyways, I was happy to finish this up and move on. It's very smooth and light and has a creamy gel-like consistency. It's quite sheer and didn't really cover up my redness. I don't see myself repurchasing simply because it's not especially hydrating or concealing.

Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in fair to light (SPF 30): This is a decent product, especially for the drugstore. It has a decent amount of coverage and I love that it had a higher SPF. It just ended up being another product that I just haven't reached for. In this case, that lead to another 4- year relationship that should have ended long ago as evidenced by the now chunky texture.

Rimmel London Clear Complexion Concealer in Light: I've loved this stick concealer for years. It's just slightly waxy in texture of covers quite well and is inexpensive. I don't think I'll purchase this again, as there are other products I like more, but I would still recommend it to someone looking for a cheap drugstore concealer.

Covergirl Coverstick in Medium Beige: A really thick stick concealer that is slightly sticky in texture. It has quite heavy coverage-- definitely more than Rimmel's Clear Complexion Concealer.

Jordana Eyeliner in Medium Brown: I dislike this about as much as I like the FabuLiner. It literally feels like a graphite pencil when you're applying it. There's not much color payoff and it's uncomfortable to attempt to apply. Fortunately, it was incredibly cheap (around $1.00).

Jordana FabuLiner Liquid Eye Liner in Black: I'm in love with this and already bought a replacement in black and brown. It's a very firm felt tip liner thats $2.00 at Walgreens, incredibly easy to use, lasts well (isn't waterproof), matte, and easy to blend until it sets (which usually takes <15 seconds).

Loreal Paris Magic Lumi Concealer/Correcteur in Fair: This definitely had a very small amount of illuminating shimmer which I quite liked but makes for an impractical concealer. Unless of course you're interested in highlighting blemishes rather than covering them. It isn't hydrating enough for under the eyes and only seemed to last around four hours before showing off dry skin. I wouldn't consider it a dupe for YSL's Touche Eclat. The first half of the tube, I really liked it but I kind of grew to dislike it. Either way, I did use up the entire clicking pen. 

eos Lotion in Melon: eos does a great job of coming up with different and unique packaging. This was really convenient to just slip in my handbag and go. It felt a little watery and wasn't as hydrating as I like hand creams to be (L'Occitane is definitely my favorite). This did smell good and identical to the coordinating lip balm in melon.

Gold Bond Ultimate Skin Therapy Cream in Healing with Aloe: I'm always on the hunt for the best heavy moisturizer. Initially, I loved this but if you apply too much at a time it will literally "ball up" when you try to rub it in.  It's really thick in consistency, more like a body butter and has a light, clean scent. I actually did use this up but won't be repurchasing. 

Samples

Clinique All About Eyes Serum: I got this in a Gift With Purchase at LEAST 5 years ago. I only used it a handful of times and now it smells weird. To be honest, I don't remember much about it except for it's unscented and feels like a very thin gel. It has a metal ball applicator which gave a nice cooling effect. Again, I don't see myself purchasing. 

Hourglass Tinted Moisturizer in Ivory: This has the highest coverage of any tinted moisturizer I've ever tried. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd sheered it out with a moisturizer but anything more than a light tinted moisturizer makes me feel a little "cakey". It did kind of settle in to pores as well. Granted, I didn't use a primer. As much as I love Hourglass, I don't think I'll be purchasing.

Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter: This is a hugely popular cream and I totally understand why. It has a nice perfumed scent and moisturizes really well. I did really like this and would possibly purchase in the future but I'm really loving my current moisturizer. 

Laura Geller Liquid Candlelight Face and Body Glow: I got this a long time ago from Ulta as a points reward. When I say "long time" we're talking 5+ years ago. I really have no business keeping it with me, especially since using it would probably result in the worse breakout of my life due to how old it is. As far as the product, it was nice, but quite thin. Unfortunately, when I got it I had no idea how to use a highlighter. It's unscented and a little on the golden side. If it came up again as a points reward I would probably grab it, but I don't see myself purchasing.