BEAUTY ALIXIRS

This year's VIB Rouge free gift are two mini NARS lip pencils and a mini larger than life eyeliner.

The first thing I picked up is the Cover FX Custom Cover drops in shade G30. For reference, I wear MAC NC20, Dior 021, Chanel B20. The "G" line in this range is supposed to be meant for golden undertones, so i'm excited to see if this is a good shade match.

Next is the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Palette, another rave by Lisasz09.

Next on the list is the Tarte Holiday Blush Palette. Bling it On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette.  I also purchased the palette from last year. The blushes are great quality and you get a lot of product for the price. Definitely a recommended buy if you're into blush and want a good bang for your buck.

Another Tarte product is the Maracuja Oil. I have fairly dry skin and usually put about 2-3 drops into my moisturizer at night to give an extra boost of moisture. I've found that my skin feels more hydrated the morning after, sometimes even with a glow.

I was on the hunt for a good nail base, so I picked up the Butter London Nail Foundation. I was looking for something that was on the thicker side and could smooth out my nail. 

I also picked up the Laneige BB Cushion in Light. I have a post on my first impressions on this product so feel free to check it out if you're interested in some swatches.

Lastly are just some perfume samples that I added to my online order. Theory Mugler Angel and Gucci Premier.

It has SPF 50+ with broad spectrum sunscreen. The ingredients contain Zinc Oxide, which is one of the few ingredients which is an effective UVA blocker. UVA rays are the ones which are responsible for tanning and most skin-aging effects. The SPF measure on north american sunscreen protection measures UVB protection, which is what causes sun burns. 

While I SPF50+ is always nice to have in a face product, I wouldn't rely on a BB cushion to provide you with the necessary sun protection all day-- always use a separate Sunscreen. My favorite is the Allie Mineral Moist Sunscreen SPF 50+, PA++++.

The packaging on the Lineage BB Cushion is quite sleek with a sizeable mirror included. There is a sponge given with an rubber stopper which keeps the product inside. The product comes with 2 "pods" of product, each containing 15 ml of product and a sponge.

Once you life the rubber stopper you can see that the product is contained within a sponge. If you tilt the pan it doesn't leak, which is comforting if you're looking to travel with this.

Here is a swatch of the product on my arm.

And a swatch of the product blended out. As you can see, it does contain a yellow undertone. 

This is the lightest shade available for this product, so if you are very fair with a pink undertone, finding a shade match will be difficult. 

I wore the product for 7 hours yesterday and found it to give a very skin-like appearance. However, due to the cold climate on the east coast, it started to look a little dry on my normal-dry skin, which is kind of surprising since the product is by no means matte. I did apply the product with the sponge given, and found it gave a nice finish and an even application.

I still need to wear this a couple times, but so far I adore the packaging and the shade match is decent.  Wear time could be improved with a moisturizing primer.

Have you tried any BB cushions? What's your favourite one? Let me know in the comments section.

xoxo,

alixirs