When Indulgences Aren't

Another one for the "things I sent back" mental pile: Guerlain Meteorites in Teint Rose.

$58 for 1.05 oz, via Sephora

I bought it after finishing the term, and because I had the $20 off Sephora coupon, and eagerly awaited its arrival. Beautiful packaging, lovely presentation, I actually really like the smell (like candied violets, which is a perfume I would never want to wear, but it's nice as a face powder), and even the fact that I didn't see much of a (okay, any) difference when wearing it didn't mute my excitement. Care to guess what did?

Yep, it broke me out. SURPRISE! To no one, ever. It may be the bismuth oxychloride, which is known for causing break-outs, or it may be some completely innocuous ingredient that no one has ever reacted badly to, ever, and ugh, wouldn't it be nice to not have insanely reactive acne-prone skin?

So back to Sephora it goes. And now I'm on the lookout for a replacement "hurray, you not only survived the term but got good grades to boot! Way to go, self!" present. I'll probably pick up something when I'm in SoCal––where I'll be for Christmas, yay! My mother and I are vacationing down there for a few days, bracketed by some time up in Portland (starting tomorrow!), and I plan to do lots of cosmetics shopping, or at least swatching, while I'm around places that actually carry a variety of brands.

Have you tried Meteorites? What did you think? Any suggestions for luxe beauty indulgences I should check out? Or places in the LA/Newport Beach area we should visit (and, more importantly, eat at)?

Kryolan Anti-Shine Powder Review and Pictures

Powder mattifying products are my best friend. I've used (and loved) Mattify! ULTRA in the past, but wanted to try something else that would hopefully be cheaper, and after trawling the internet, came upon Kryolan Anti-Shine Powder. Kryolan, stationed in Berlin (Ich bin Berliner!) is a makeup company designed for use in theater and bills itself as being long-wear and heavy-duty. Their Anti-Shine Powder is formulated to survive long shooting sessions while keeping the face shine-free, without adding a white cast. Does it succeed? (Spoiler: I can't actually attest to whether it survives long shooting sessions, since, hello, grad student not model/actor. But I figure my normal-person observations are helpful, too?)

See label

theBalm You're Giving Me a Complexion Kit Review and Swatches

You know how sometimes you purchase something, and you're just so excited that you can hardly bear it, and then you use the products, and you realize with a sinking feeling that they're just not going to work for you? Yeah, that happened. Now I'm going to grouse about it on here (the real reason I started a blog!).

I posted a few days ago about the awesome theBalm sets at TJ Maxx. Before I go any further, let me tell you that this review is in no way a condemnation of theBalm or TJ Maxx. I love them both super lots, but sometimes love is not enough (I feel like that should be accompanied by a really sad guitar).

Meow Cosmetics Top Cat Luxury Finishing/Setting Powder Review

There are so many good things about Top Cat finishing powder that I'm having trouble picking just one to serve as a hook for this review.  It's weightless, it controls oil, it provides a natural matte-ish finish, I only need a tiny bit to cover my face, it lasts all day, it's invisible...so much awesome!