I’m pretty sure that this was my first experience with a blush by L’oreal and I am not disappointed.  I feel like they did a great job with the level of pigmentation.  You can go into the pan with any brush shape without being careful, but it still picks up enough color to show up.  In my experience, this blush works great with both synthetic and natural hair brushes.  The formula is easy to blend on the skin and despite the inclusion of emollient ingredients (i.e. coconut oil, mango seed butter), it behaves like a traditional powder formula.

Givenchy has turned its iconic lip balm into a liquid gloss formula.  I think that if you read the description from Sephora and that is what has piqued your interest, you will likely be disappointed and feel that this lip gloss claims to be a balm.  However, according to the description on Saks, it is actually called a liquid gloss formula.  I purchased the shade 14 Nude Soul.

Givenchy Le Rose Perfecto Liquid Balm, $36.00

This balm starts off as a lip gloss, but as it wears away it feels more like a balm.  On my lips, the color is a light pink.  It has a slight scent that doesn’t linger for very long.  Surprisingly, it does hang around through drinking and eating for 2 to 3 hours and I still feel like there is a balm on my lips even a little while after that.   I can also feel that it did help my chapped lips after just one day of wearing it.  I also feel like my lips feel softer and smoother after I use it.  It does have a tingle at the start of wear thanks to pink pepper that is supposed to plump the lips.  If you’ve ever used a gloss or lipstick with peppermint oil in it, then this will feel similar to you.  I didn’t notice any plumping effect from the tingle and it goes away fairly quickly.  I really like this and do feel it performs a lip balm function but with a nice sheen on the lips and gives a hint of color.

Buy High: Smashbox Blurring Foundation Brush, $32.00

Buy Low: e.l.f. Ultimate Blending Brush, $6.00

Both of these brushes work well for those who like to apply foundation in a buffing motion.  They can also be used to stipple for more coverage when needed. I truly feel like I can get the same results from both of these brushes.  The biggest application difference is coverage level.  The e.l.f. Ultimate Blending Brush has a shorter handle and the closer your hand is to your face, the more pressure you use.  This translates to heavier coverage.  If you are aware of that you can be careful to use less product and that will lessen the coverage you get.  If you like higher coverage that won’t be an issue.  The Smashbox Blurring Foundation Brush gives you more flexibility in coverage simply because you’ll naturally hold the brush further down because the handle is longer.  The Smashbox brush also has markings on the handle that indicate where to hold the brush depending on the coverage level you want.

The Nubian 3 Palette by Juvia’s Place is a little underrated in my opinion.  In a time when so many people are complaining that makeup releases are all looking the same, I do not think this palette got enough shine when it was released.

When it was first released I feel like there were some criticisms about the color story not being coral enough.  Every color exists on a spectrum of the shades mixed to create them.  So for instance coral is a color that falls in between red and orange.  So with orange being a mixture of yellow and red, every coral created is going to have different amounts of yellow, orange, and red present in the mixture.  What that means, is that some corals are going to have more of an orange tone to them because they have more yellow and others are going to be pinker in tone, because they have more of the primary red pigment.

The Swatches – Juvia’s Place Nubian 3 Coral Palette, $20.00

So to me, there are 6 corals in this palette that range from a light pink coral to a deep red coral.  It is also important to keep in mind that we all see color differently and that is fine.  The way shades appear on different skin tones will also matter.  But to me, this reads as a coral palette.  I also think that the addition of varying tones of gray gives this palette a unique twist on being neutral without the ever-popular warm mid-tone brown.

Keep reading for some color combinations.