I’m happy to report I was absolutely overwhelmed with duty-free fragrance while on vacation! Hell, I was even daring enough to not indulge in not one but five Tom Ford fragrances. I tend to avoid Tom Ford fragrances as they are a bit too dark and harsh but I surprised myself and fell in love with a few after wearing them for several hours. Plus hey, duty-free prices helped a lot.

I’m also very, very excited to say there were a lot of newer releases available that haven’t yet hit our market here in New York (but should very, very shortly) such as Poison Girl. Screeching halt.

No, I’m not a Poison fan girl! But the allure of Poison Girl was too great to pass up as it is describe as a lighter gourmand compared to the original formula. So, yes, of course, I grabbed that up! Oh off topic, one that I didn’t see heavily promoted was Stella McCarney’s new Pop fragrance. For some reason, I felt that Pop would be a fragrance that would be heavily pushed for Fall 2016 and I thought it would be all over the place at duty-free shops but it wasn’t!

But moving on….

I think I was a bit overwhelmed with selection because I didn’t notice YSL Mon Paris Eau de Parfum but I’m betting they had it. I’m sad I missed out smelling it as I don’t think it hit counters yet even though it is readily available online at Ulta.com, Nordstrom.com, etc….!

This is a fruity little floral number with a dark undertone that includes notes of chypre and patchouli. The sweetness comes from strawberry, raspberry, and pear notes and of course, as with most YSL fragrances, their is a bouquet of floral notes that include orange blossom, jasmine, and peony. BUT wait there’s more! It also contains three types of white musk. I was somewhat floored by the mix of notes they have going on here. Orange blossom seems terribly out of place with fruit notes such as strawberry and deeper ones like patchouli. None the less count me curious about how it smells.

The campaign will feature Canadian model Crista Cober along with French actor Jeremie Laheurte (he was in Blue Is the Warmest Color, see it! It’s quite good if you’re a foreign film buff!).

I’ll be smelling it soon I’m sure and sharing my thoughts.

But if you already tried it do share yours!

If nothing else, I simply love the bottle!

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Never let it be said that Philosophy doesn’t have some hard working skin care. Let’s see, I love their long gone Dark Spot Correcter, oh and there’s the super moisturizing Back to Nurture Deeply Replenishing Beauty Sleek Mask, and let’s not forget Miracle Work Pads!

A lot of their products have been very, very good to my skin!

That’s why I’m highly curious about their new Philosophy Ultimate Miracle Worker Pearl Mask ($80). Philosophy Ultimate Miracle Worker Pearl Mask looks like caviar put please don’t go slapping it on a cracker and eating it. Each of these pearls contains pure apricot oil and hyaluronic acid. You press the pearls gently onto your skin using a 100% cotton, esthetician-grade pouch and they’ll proceed to break open and bath your skin in a moisturizing gel that acts to restore, moisturizing, and restore skin (do not rinse after application). Apparently a total of 10 pearls are needed each time you use the mask and it can be used up to three times a week.

The concept sounds interesting enough and I’m not scared by the price tag in the least considering my fantastic success with Philosophy skincare.

What do you think?

Philosophy Ultimate Miracle Worker Pearl Mask is available now at Sephora.com and Nordstrom.com.

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The Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow Palette ($49) for Fall 2016 hit the beauty airways yesterday. This new 8 shade eyeshadow palette contains a selection of new Moondust Eyeshadows for the glitter addicts in us all.

Urban Decay gets back to their roots with this release and gifts us with a sparkly, glittery selection of shades. Let’s face it, UD has been on the naked, nude road for a while now so, this palette definitely brings the Urban Decay universe back into the correct orbit.

The thing with the Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow Palette is the fact it proves a daring release for the brand. Mind you, not because the eyeshadows are glittery but because Moondust Eyeshadow isn’t exactly a popular formula. I think Moondust Eyeshadow is a hit or a miss, a love or a hate formula for most people. You either really love it or you really hate it. Moondust Eyeshadow can produce some incredible eye looks but it takes work and fall out is an issue. Also, some people completely hate glittery eyeshadows and these have a refined glittery finish! Mind you, they aren’t the chunky glittery messy formula you’d find in shades like say Kiddie Pool. They also prove a little denser in texture compared to the original Urban Decay Eyeshadow Collection. I personally like them but I realize they aren’t for everyone.

The palette packs in eight new, exciting shades all of which have a refined, glittery formula and finish.

Shades:

• Specter (soft pink w/tonal sparkle)
• Element (peach w/pink shift and sparkle)
• Magnetic (purple w/blue sparkle)
• Lightyear (vibrant green w/tonal sparkle)
• Granite (black w/multicolored sparkle)
• Lithium (brown w/iridescent 3-D sparkle)
• Vega (bright blue w/tonal sparkle)
• Galaxy (smoky blue-gray w/iridescent 3-D sparkle)

I don’t know if it screams Fall for anyone but I love sparkle and I’d eat it for breakfast in the morning sprinkled on my cornflakes if I could! So, it’s a yay for me!

How about you?

Loving it or leaving it?

The Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow Palette is available now at Ulta.com, Sephora.com, Nordstrom.com, and at urbandecay.com.

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As long as you aren’t planning on removing any makeup with Clinique Pep-Start Quick Cleansing Swipes you’ll be a-ok! The new Clinique Pep-Start Quick Cleansing Swipes ($14) are part of the new Pep-Start Skincare Collection that Clinique recently introduced which started with the introduction of Pep-Start Eye Cream as well as the new Pep-Start Hydroblur Moisturizer and a new exfoliating cleanser.

The collection is refreshingly new and upbeat for Clinique who hasn’t changed their standard packaging in years. The brightly colored tubes and packaging of the Pep-Start line seems to want to reel in a potentially new and young demographic but these products are definitely for everyone! I feel like the introduction of Chubby Sticks and Cheek Pop Blush were a turning point for Clinique as since those releases the brand has become a lot brighter and fun with their releases.

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