FYI: Pantene Age Defy Collection

My local Costco carries the Pantene Age Defy Collection for $23.99. It comes with all full-size products. If bought separately: Shampoo (10.1oz) goes for ~$7.99; Condition (8.4oz)  is ~$7.99; Thickening treatment spray is ~$18.99. Obviously these prices differ depending on the store you go to, but that's the general price range.

Although I'm not losing hair at my age yet, I've read that the thickening treatment actually adds a lot of volume at the roots, which is something I would really like.

Ingredients for anyone interested.

Pantene also has a rebate program: if you spend $20 or more on their Expert Collection, you can get $10 back. I'm not sure if Pantene will accept a purchase from Costco though. The fine print states, "No requests from groups, clubs, or organizations will be honored. " If anyone knows, please let me know!

Concealer Swatches

I've been meaning to swatch all of my concealers but I was usually just too lazy to do it. Well, here it is! I know this won't help anyone in deciding the texture of the concealer or how it wears, but I hope this helps anyone looking for a certain shade of concealer or finding the best dupe/match in terms of color. This obviously isn't going to help show you the actual color of the concealer since everyone's monitor is calibrated differently, but if you have one of these concealers, this will hopefully help you do a comparison.

Click to enlarge.

I really hope this helps someone!

The photo was taken at least 15 minutes after the last concealer was swatched so that gave the concealers time to dry and/or set. This also hopefully helps show the color after oxidation occurs, which is obviously how it'll actually look when it's on your skin for the day. (It's pretty crazy how some concealers oxidize a lot.)

Here's the text list of the concealer swatched (from left to right).

• Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer (Light Med)
• Shiseido Natural Finish Cream Concealer (02 Light Med) & (03 Medium)
• Stila Perfecting Concealer (D)
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer (#2)
• Benefit Erase Paste (Medium)
• Lancome Effacernes Waterproof Concealer (Light Bisque)
• MUFE Full Cover Concealer (#5) & (#7)
• Dior Diorskin Nude Skin Perfecting Hydrating Concealer (001) & (002)
• MAC Pro Longwear Concealer (NC20) & (NC30) & (NC35)
• MAC Select Cover-Up (NW20)
• Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer (Medium Beige)
• Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer (03 Moderately Fair)
• Clinique Airbrush Concealer (04 Neutral Fair)
• Clinique All About Eyes Concealer (02 Light Golden) & (04 Medium Petal)
• Maybelline Dream Lumi Highlighting Concealer (Nude) & (Buff)
• Maybelline Fit Me Concealer (20) & (25) & (10)
• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector (Light Medium) & (Medium)
• Maybelline SuperStay 24 Hour Concealer (Medium Beige) & (Light)
• Covergirl and Olay Simply Ageless Concealer (210) & (215) & (220) & (230)
• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Foundation (30 Medium)
• Almay Wake-Up Undereye Concealer (020 Light/Med) & (030 Medium)
• Almay Clear Complexsion Concealer (100 Light) & (200 Light/Med)
• Neutrogena SkinClearing Blemish Concealer (Buff)
• Shiseido The Makeup Concealer Correcteur (2 Medium)
• Shiseido Concealer Stick (2 Medium)
• Estee Lauder Smoothing Cream Concealer (Smooth Medium 03)
• Cover Girl CG Smoothers Concealer (715 Medium)
• Sheer Cover Concealer (Med/Tan)
• Everyday Minerals Color Corrector (Mint) & (Sunlight)
• Everyday Minerals Concealer (Abbott’s Perk Me Up) & (Intensive Medium)
• MAC Studio Finish Concealer (NC30) & (NC35)
• Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller (Sheer Tint)

Aqualillies for Tarte

So curious about Aqualillies (synchronized swimming entertainers) for Tarte (and I'm so in love with Tarte products!). The packaging is adorable. I can't wait to hear more about it. From a quick Google search, it looks like the large compact has 6 shadows (5 shadows + liner?), a highlighter, a bronzer, and a blush. And how adorable is that make-a-wish necklace from Dogeared?! I would never want it to wear off.

Image: thezoereport @ instagram

Update on March 18, 2013: Aqualillies for Tarte is now on QVC's website.
The following products are on the website:

• Amazonian Clay Waterproof Eyeliner 
• Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder
• Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette
• Glamazon 12hr Lipstick
• Maracuja Divine Shine Duo

I'm not sure what the small jar with the red lid is supposed to be. The small jar with the blue lid is the Amazonian Clay Waterproof Eyeliner in Black, so perhaps the red lip is a different shade.

Update on March 19, 2013: For whatever reason, these products are no longer listed under QVC's section for Tarte. And through the links I put up, only the eyeliner is available for purchase...though I have a feeling it's going to be removed soon too.

Tarte Brow Mousse + GlowLight Luminizing Wand

Like I've said many times before, brows are sooo important to me! After a lot of debating and testing it in stores, I decided to purchase Tarte's Brow Mousse in Rich Brown. It's a perfect shade for me. It's not noticeably warm, but it's also not so cool that it would only work with raven black hair. The shade is very very similar to MUFE's Eyebrow Corrector #4 (which has been discontinued and rebranded as Aqua Brows. I'm not sure what shade #4 is called now though).

Tarte emphasEYES Waterproof Amazonian Clay Brow Mousse in Rich Brown, Laura Mercier Brow Definer in Warm, MUFE Eyebrow Corrector in #4

MUFE Eyebrow Corrector has been my HG brow product for years. It's the only one that lasts on my brows regardless of weather or sweat. The shade is perfect for me. And the consistency is easy so work with (there is a bit of a learning curve). The product also lasts foreverr so while the initial price is high, it'll last years. It's also very sanitary since it's a tube, and it's very unlikely it'd ever dry out. MUFE Eyebrow Corrector is a extremely pigmented cream-gel eyebrow product with no waxy texture so it doesn't flatten my brow hairs against my skin.

I strayed and was curious about Laura Mercier's Brow Definer and that was a no for me. I didn't like this because it is very waxy and it's not very pigmented. I can see how some people may like it, especially those with finer brow hairs who need a bit of wax to control the direction their hairs point. I don't know…it just looked messy and didn't give me a clean brow.

Swatches left to right: Tarte emphasEYES Waterproof Amazonian Clay Brow Mousse in Rich Brown, Laura Mercier Brow Definer in Warm, MUFE Eyebrow Corrector in #4

Tarte's Brow Mousse is really similar to MUFE Eyebrow Corrector, but easier to work with. There's not really much of a learning curve to it though. It doesn't apply streaky, especially with the complementary brow brush. I would describe Brow Mousse as a cross between a cream-gel brow product and a powder. It gives the definition of a cream-gel product with the softness of a powder, which is amazing to me. I'm not sure why it's called a mousse since it isn't "mousse-like" at all. It's quite dense imo. It's not like a gel-liner either...it's much stiffer. I'm quite afraid this will dry out really fast! This product goes for $28 with the brush. I got it for $24 from Tarte's sale section and it came with Tarte's GlowLight Luminizing Wand.

Top is Tarte's complementary brow brush and below is MUFE's Eyebrow Brush. See how much smaller the head of MUFE's brush is?

The double sided brush is really interesting to me. The flat angled brush side is very soft and quite large compared to my MUFE Eyebrow Brush. The largeness of Tarte's brush definitely doesn't offer as much precision but it creates a softer brow with less 'streaks'. I've been using my MUFE brush for YEARS and it's held up great. I love the stiffness of the bristles which allows the brush to get product onto my skin not my brow hairs. So I'm surprised that I actually really like Tarte's brow brush. They both definitely have their purpose. I also appreciate the spooly end on Tarte's brush, which is really useful in softening the top edge of my brows or for brushing hairs in place.

The way I apply this product is I just dab the angled flat brush head on top of the brow mousse. There's no need to slide or press the brush against the top of the product since it's just sooo pigmented. It's very easy to just get more product later if necessary. Then I just brush it into my brows.

I honestly didn't really care for the GlowLight Luminizing Wand. I just saw that the overall deal was cheaper than actually buying the Brow Mousse alone, so I decided to get the deal. This is not to say the luminizer is bad. I just personally don't use luminizers or highlighters much so I don't feel that I'm the position to really criticize. I do like it and I do highlight the bridge of my nose and the tops of my cheekbones occasionally. This highlighter does stay on the entire day, which is amazing to me. It is shimmery, and I don't think it would work very well on very dark skintones just because it could be ashy and too pale. The Luminizer Wand works just like their Maracuja Divine Shine Lip Gloss. There's a button on the end that you push to get product to flow through the brush. I appreciate this kind of packaging for the most part because it's much more sanitary than a doe foot applicator that gets redipped. Tube-packaging is even more so sanitary than doe-foot or brush tip applicators (though some may argue that tube-packaging sucks air in from the environment when the tube is uncompressed). Okay, my germa-phobic self is getting side-tracked. Anyway. It was tricky figuring out how many 'pushes' were required to get the product out. I just spent a few minutes pushing the button slowly to make sure a huge glob didn't come out all at once. I think I would've preferred a twist-to-advance tube than a push-to-advance tube just because I'm afraid I could accidentally push the button when it's in my purse or makeup bag. But this isn't a big deal. Anyway, this is a nice product though I probably wouldn't repurchase since I rarely use highlighters.

Review: Tarte The Stand Outs Limited-Edition Best Sellers Kit

Right photo swatches top to bottom: Lights Camera Lashes mascara, heavy swatch of Lipsurgence in Pouty, light swatch of Lipsurgence in Pouty, Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Bronze not blended, Amazonian Clay Wateproof Liner in Bronze blended

This was a holiday kit that is still available on Tarte's website. While I don't care too much for the mascara (love everything about it except it doesn't hold a curl so it's useless to me), I was really curious about their Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner and LipSurgence and this was a very affordable way to try both products.

The Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner comes in Bronze in this kit. I really wasn't expecting to like the Bronze that much, but wow, it's beautiful! I was afraid it'd be orangey and light, but it's an intense dark bronze. It can be used as a cream eyeshadow too. It's sooooo creamy. There's absolutely no drag when applying and you have a good window of time to smudge it if you desire. It does crease on me and transfer but I think that's mostly unique to me because I have very hooded and oily eyelids. I've never met an eyeliner that didn't crease or transfer on me, so this was nothing new.

The brush that comes with this liner is pretty good. I do prefer a bent liner brush but it's not that much harder to work with a straight one. The ferrule for the straight liner brush end did fall off though, which was really sad. I just stuck it back on but it might not last very long. Both ends of the brush are really soft and I do really like the smudger end as well. It's dense and short enough to give precise smudging. The smudger end can be used to apply the liner as eyeshadow too. I really would like to see the double-ended liner brush with a bamboo handle, but I guess this handle was designed before Tarte started implementing bamboo in their brushes. (Unless this is painted bamboo?)

LipSurgence Lip Luster in Pouty. I was really afraid this was going to be super shimmery but it really isn't. I honestly did not notice any shimmer. I see it on the actual stick of product, but I don't see it on my lips at all. Pouty is a translucent deep pink-berry shade. It is a bit dark, and I would prefer it during the winter, but overall, it's very a wearable shade. It is very moisturizing on my lips, though it is important to exfoliate before hand if there are any dry patches. I like the minty scent too. It's not a sweet mint scent…it's just minty which is really refreshing. Overall I really really like this and the scent is awesome for a mint-lover like me.

Review: Tarte Maracuja Oil

I received Tarte's Maracuja Oil Rollerball in the mail a few days ago and it's okay, but not made for my skin. I haven't broken out from it and I don't notice my pores are any more clogged than usual. But it doesn't moisturize my skin at all.

I think the main question on most people's minds is whether this is a equal or better or worst alternative to Argan Oil (from Josie Maran) or Jojoba Oil (from Desert Essence). I've tried Argan and jojoba oil before and they just didn't amaze me. Neither of them really sank into my skin well. And honestly, I felt like my skin was drier since it just would never absorb. They felt very heavy too. Unfortunately, I have to describe maracuja oil the same.

The maracuja oil from Tarte is completely clear. I don't know if that's the ideal color of maracuja oil since I've seen slightly yellow colored maracuja oils from other brands. But overall, this maracuja oil feels a smidgen nicer than Argan or jojoba oil. It's 'lighter' and absorbs relatively better, though I still have an issue with it not absorbing. It leaves an oily layer on top of my skin which doesn't seem to want to sink in. I'm wondering if my skin just doesn't take to oil well. Some people swear by various oils on their skin and say it never leaves a film for them. But every oil I've tried leaves a oily film regardless of how many hours have passed by. I've tried applying the oil on damp skin to help facilitate the absorption. I always exfoliating my skin daily so a layer of dead skin shouldn't be the issue either. I don't think I'm using too much either since my skin still feels dry afterwards. My skin has actually been flaky since I started using this.

FYI, before using Tarte's Maracuja Oil, I used Shiseido's White Lucent line (softener, serum, and emulsion). Shiseido's White Lucent line is heaven sent for me and I can't live without it. It would've been really nice to be able to replace the pricey Shiseido line with a moderately priced face oil, but maracuja oil just doesn't work for me.

I was actually quite surprised by the size of the rollerball. It's much larger than I had imagined. 4 inches in height. 0.75 inches in diameter.

I ordered the rollerball from Tarte's website. I definitely didn't want to pick up the full-size bottle since I don't know how my skin will take to this oil. I would prefer a dropper than a rollerball so I can count how many "drops" I'm using, but it's really not a big deal. This is great for traveling though!

I love how pretty this rollerball is! It's a glass tube with a gold painted cap. The weight of the rollerball may not be ideal for traveling, but it does make it feel quite luxurious.

Update on March 12, 2013: After using this for four days, I suddenly have six new pimples, which is crazy. I really really really wanted to like this because Tarte makes some amazing products. I do get the occasional one or two pimples every few weeks, but six pimples is just unusual for me. So unfortunately, this product doesn't work for me. It's probably because my pores get blocked from how much oil I had to use in an attempt to moisturize my skin with this oil. And my skin was probably really unhappy with how dry it was. =[ I've noticed my skin breaks out whenever it's dry (which is why I tend to have more pimples in the winter than any other season). I don't think I'm "purging" either because my skin was relatively clear beforehand and really doesn't have much to purge.

Review: Tarte BB Primer

After getting a few samples of Tarte's new BB primer, I knew I had to order a full-size tube of it (in light, which is perfect for my NC25 skin)! It's absolutely amazing! It gives my face this amazing soft-focus finish. It's definitely not full-coverage and I wouldn't suggest trying to build it up to full-coverage, but it definitely helps blur out some of my imperfections. The reason I wouldn't build it up too much is because the texture is very slippery (very silicony), so it simply just doesn't layer well.

I just wanted to point out that the tubes are sealed with a metal tab, which I really appreciate. (I took it off before taking a photo, but this photo hopefully gives you an idea of the seal.)

I love that it has SPF 30 too! This feels so much better than most traditional suncreens. The way it feels on my skin reminds me of liquid sunscreens…the "Asian" kinds where you have to shake it to resuspend the ingredients before squeezing the product out.

Swatch of the primer in light

I know a ton of people say this is drying for their skin or that it really brings out the 'flakes' in their skin. And I guess that could be true. But I always use a daily moisturizer under even though this BB primer (and other BB products) claims to being a moisturizer too. I love that BB products are an all-in-one kind of product, but I think each individual 'benefit' is subpar to actually using a separate moisturizer, serum, primer, foundation, sunscreen. Don't get me wrong. This is a great product and I love it. But as someone with dry skin, I wouldn't use this in place of my daily moisturizer.