Burberry Beauty Nail Polish in Mink No.105

I picked up a few colors from Burberry's new nail polish line. Mink No.105 ($21; burberry.com, Nordstrom), is one of the neutrals, described as a murky taupy grey with a hint of green. Its not the most attractive color in the bottle and even on my nails, its not the best looking, but a nice nude to have that can be worn any time of the year.

The formula was quite smooth and opaque in two coats - the brush was quite wide for my small-ish nails and the polish dried super fast. It wasn't streaky and the consistency was perfect! Mink has a nice creme finish that is quite glossy on its own, but I used a top coat anyways. The color leans more green indoors and is a little more taupy looking outdoors (see pics below for under diff. lighting). I like the bottle design when the cap is on, not so much when its taken off - its sort of odd looking. While not the most flattering color for my skin tone, Mink would look nice on lighter skintones and its a great color for when you want to take a break from the brights and metallics.

What are your thoughts on Burberry Beauty's Nail Polish in Mink?

Holiday Gift Guide : Luxurious Bath, Body & Fragrance Edition

Some of my favorite bath, body and fragrance picks for the holidays! 

Fragrances

TOCCA Florence Luxury Spa Set ($78 ; sephora.com) - Tocca's best selling fragrance Florence in a bubble bath, EDP and mini candle.
Jo Malone Holiday Fragrance Collection ($100; shop.nordstrom.com) - Mini sizes of Jo Malone's  Lime Basil and Mandarin, English Pear and Freesia, Blackberry and Bay, Amber and Lavender & Peony and Blush Suede.
Salvatore Ferragamo Signorina Eau de Toilette Gift Set($89 ; macys.com) - Salvatore Ferragamo's Signorina in an EDT, Body Lotion and Body Wash.
L'Occitane La Collection de Grasse Travel Fragarnce Set ($35 ; usa.loccitane.com)
Laura Mercier Bath & Body Travel Quartet Fresh Fig ($50 ; lauramercier.com) - Laura Mercier' Fresh Fig Fragrance in a Body Wash, Body Butter, Eau Gourmande and Hand Cream.
Viktor & Rolf  'Flowerbomb Crystal' Eau de Parfum ($120 ; shop.nordstrom.com)
L'ARTISAN PARFUMEUR Discovery Set For Her ($98 ; sephora.com)

Body Care 



REN Luxury Rose Set ($78; shop.nordstrom.com) - REN's Moroccan Rose Otto Body Wash, Sugar Body Polish and Ultra Moisture Body Oil packed in a gift box.
Lavanila Mini Deo Trio ($22; sephora.com) - Three mini sizes of Lavanila's Vanilla Coconut, Vanilla Grapefruit and Pure Vanilla deo.
TOCCA BEAUTY Crema Mani Viaggio Trio ($20 ; sephora.com)
BLISS You 'Butter' Watch Out Body Butter Trio ($39 ; sephora.com)
CAUDALIE Hand Cream Trio ($25 ; shop.nordstrom.com)
L'Occitane Shea Embrace Set ($69 ; usa.loccitane.com) - Shea Hand Cream, Shea Foot Cream, Shea Body Cream, Shea Soap Milk, and Shea Ultra Rich Shower Cream packed in a gift box.

For Him:




YVES SAINT LAURENT L'homme Gift Set ($92 ; sephora.com)
Viktor & Rolf 'Spicebomb Titanium' Eau de Toilette ($110 ; shop.nordstrom.com) - Spicebomb packed in a limited edition packaging.
THE ART OF SHAVING The 4 Elements of the Perfect Shave ($115 ; sephora.com) - Full sizes of The Art Of Shaving's Shaving Cream, Pre-Shave Gel, Aftershave Lotion & Pure Badget Black Shaving Brush.

Have you tried any of these fabulous holiday sets? What are your favorites?

* NO Affiliate links have been included. Some products mentioned were press samples sent for consideration.

Laura Mercier White Magic Collection - Tightline Cake Eyeliner in Gunmetal Smoke

The Tightline Cake Eyeliner in Gunmetal Smoke ($23; lauramercier.com) is a standout piece for me from the White Magic Holiday Color Collection by Laura Mercier. Gunmetal Smoke is a dark, blackened grey with hints of blue with very fine shimmer. The tightline eyeliners come in pressed form and can be used wet/dry, mostly wet, to intensify the color, with the help of a mixing medium. *Press Sample



I used a Hakuhodo K005 brush to pick up product and smooth it over my upper lash line. I did try it on my waterline, din't have any issues, but I'm not sure if I will again, because of the teeny tiny shimmer. To activate, I used just plain water spritzed on a brush lightly (never directly on the product, or better yet, take some product dry and mix it on the back of your hands) - any mixing medium is good, Laura makes one specifically for this purpose or else anything else like MAC's fix plus spritzed on a brush would work too. The intensity is very buildable, the formula glides easily even on my dry lids and the color is absolutely gorgeous. Hakuhodo's K005 brush makes it easy for me use this over the lash lines - its quite a firm brush, so I can get very close to my lashes, fill in any gaps and wing the eyeliner out easily. As for the staying power, it din't budge for a good 7-8 hours, but most of it washed off easily without the need for a super strong makeup remover. Overall, I'd highly recommend this formula and Gunmetal Smoke in particular. Its limited edition and one of the most beautiful greys I own!

L-R : Dry, Damp 

What are your thoughts on the Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Eyeliner in Gunmetal Smoke?

TOCCA Florence Luxury Spa Set

TOCCA's Florence Luxury Spa Set ($78; sephora.com), is a limited edition set for the holidays that features a full size of TOCCA's Florence Eau de Parfum, a luxurious Bubble Bath and a Mini Candle. Florence is a white floral, very sophisticated, extremely feminine, with notes of Italian Bergamot, Grapefruit Leaves, Green Pear, Apple Cocktail, Ivory Gardenia, Crushed Violet Petals, Jasmine, Tuberose, Blue Iris, Blonde Wood, White Musk. * Press Sample

Tocca makes some amazing fragrances and I can see why Florence is one of their best sellers. I get a lot of gardenia and tuberose from Florence, without the extreme headiness that usually accompanies fragrances with these notes.  Its definitely a scent that can be worn year round, especially if you like soft florals. The scent itself is quite a bit like Chanel's Gardenia, Chanel's version being much more stronger, with a headier opening, while Florence has a touch of musk that keeps it quite soft, yet quite intoxicating. Florence is one of the most feminine scents I've tried from Tocca and the lasting power, just like everything else from Tocca, is pretty amazing. The Bubble Bath isn't as strongly scented the Eau de Parfum, but its quite luxurious and you only need the tiniest amount for big, soft bubbles. The Candle is fantastic, its quite strong, fills up the room with the nicest floral scent quickly and the mini size is super cute. Overall, the Florence Luxury Spa Set is a great value, considering there's a full size of the perfume in there and for a few dollars more you'd get a mini candle and a bubble bath packaged inside a pretty looking box! Scroll down for more pictures of the products!

Have you tried Tocca's Florence?

BUXOM Serial Kisser Full Bodied Lipstick Set

The Serial Kisser Lipstick Set ($32; sephora.com) comes with 5 mini sizes of BUXOM's Full Bodied Lipstick. These lipsticks are very creamy and moisturizing and don't have the minty tingle most BUXOM products have. They come packaged beautifully inside a red velvet box that snaps shut with a magnetic closure. Colors include Menace, Provocateur, Mistress, Centerfold, and Moonlighter. For a full review of the BUXOM Full Bodied Lipstick formula, check this post out. *Press Sample

The Serial Kisser Set has a nice mix of everyday neutrals and darker shades. Since its a creamy lipstick formula, the tube feels a little wobbly on the mini size - din't have this problem with the full size though, so I prefer a lip brush with these lipsticks. I haven't actually had any of my lipsticks falling off from the tubes, but quite a bit of pressure can make that happen. The formula is among the best I've tried for my dry, chapped lips - its quite glossy, and stays on for a good 3-4 hours on me and the darker shades leave a light stain behind. Overall, if you still haven't tried the Full Bodied Lipsticks yet or love the Full Bodied Lipstick formula, this set is absolutely worth checking out!  Serial Kisser is Limited Edition and the lipsticks are paraben-free.

L-R : Mistress, Provocateur, Centerfold

L-R : Menace, Moonlighter

                                                                                                  Wearing Mistress

What are your thoughts on BUXOM's Serial Kisser Mini Lipstick Set?

Burberry Beauty Nail Polish in Light Gold No.107 | Burberry Golden Light Festive Makeup Collection

Burberry's new Golden Light collection for the holidays features a few limited edition products for lips and nails in festive gold packaging. The Nail polish in Light Gold No.107 ($21; burberry.com), is a gorgeous metallic yellow gold.

I do prefer bronzy golds to yellow golds, but this one is much more of a dull gold and definitely unlike any other gold polish I own. Burberry's idea of the gold packaging is beautiful - its not the super shiny, gaudy gold. Its done just right to make it look sophisticated, yet quite festive. Light Gold, is the perfect description for this color - no chunky shimmer or glitter, just a nice wearable gold in a smooth, creamy base. I'm super clumsy when it comes to applying metallic polishes and end up with the worst case of very visible brush strokes, but the formula of this polish was super easy to work with. I needed two coats for complete opacity and the consistency is just right for a metallic polish. It does dry pretty fast and dries to a slightly dull finish, so be sure to use a glossy topcoat.

I can't comment too much on the wear time - I've had this on only for a couple of days now and haven't seen any chips or tipwear, which is quite good, considering most polishes start to chip within a couple of days on me. The brush is quite wide for my small nails, which is my only qualm. That apart, I love everything else about this polish. If you do like gold polishes, Light Gold is a must have! As of today, this seems to be back in stock on the Burberry Website. I'm not sure if it will be released elsewhere like Nordstrom, so be sure to grab one if you like the color!

What are your thoughts on Burberry's Nail Polish in Light Gold?

Burt's Bees Holiday 2013 Gift Sets

Burt's Bees has some new gift sets out for the holidays from bath and body products to cute little lip balms and glosses for stocking stuffers. I got to try a couple of their kits with some of Burt's nicest products in travel friendly sizes - The Head to Toe Kit (called Natural Body Care Kit on the Burt's Bees website) and Tips and Toes Kit. *Press Samples

Head to Toe ($13; burtsbees.com) (called Natural Body Care Kit on the Burt's Bees website)  features a Soap Bark & Chamomile Cleansing Cream, Hand Salve, Naturally Nourishing Milk & Body Lotion, Fabulously Fresh Rosemary & Mint Body Wash, Original Beeswax Lip Balm and the Coconut Foot Cream. I've tried everything from this except the Cleansing Cream (I'll report back on that shortly). The Milk & Honey lotion, while not the nicest smelling, is very effective. It retains moisture very well and keeps my especially scaly legs looking soft, longer. The Fabulously Fresh Rosemary & Mint Body Wash is uber fresh, very tingly and non-drying. I have the full size in my shower and absolutely love it. The Coconut Foot Cream is great if you don't have extremely dry feet. Its quite heavily scented, but leaves my feet feeling warm and cozy - definitely something you'd need to wear socks after. The Hand Salve is a thick, moisturizing hand balm with a super sharp scent. My husband is a bigger fan of this than I am - its quite greasy but tackles dry skin very well.

Tips and Toes ($13; burtsbees.com)  is another fabulous kit with everything you need for your hands and feet. It features a small glass jar of the Almond Milk & Beeswax Hand cream, a beeswax Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil, Hand Salve, Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, Thoroughly Therapeutic Hand Cream with Grapeseed Oil & Honey and a Coconut Foot Cream. The Almond Milk & Beeswax Hand cream is a beautifully scented cream for rough, dry hands. The scent is something I love, but can be a tad too strong for some. Again, very greasy, waxy, but very effective and better suited for night time. The Grapeseed Oil & Honey Hand Cream is slightly lighter feeling with a sweeter scent and the Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream is a staple for me, definitely a favorite as far as cuticle creams and oils go - I've repurchased many little tins!

Overall, these are some fabulous kits by Burt's Bees and a nice way to try out all these products in mini sizes without breaking the bank. Most of these products are quite concentrated and thick, so a little goes a long way. If you, like me are a fan of Burt's Bees, definitely check these out!

Have you spotted these holiday kits by Burt's Bees yet?

Anastasia Lavish Kit For Brows & Eyes

The Anastasia Lavish Kit ($38; sephora.com) features a slim, 10 pan eye shadow palette, a mini brow pencil, a dual ended brush, a pair of full size tweezers and a mini covet eyeliner pencil in Noir. Everything comes packaged inside a nice little box with a generous sized mirror inside. *Press Sample

The eye shadow palette has some very beautiful, fall appropriate colors. There are quite a few richer, shimmery shades that have excellent color payoff compared to the lighter shades, which were quite chalky and sheer. There's isn't a whole lot of fallout, and the palette itself is super sleek, slides into the cover easily and is very lightweight. Anastasia's Covet Waterproof eyeliners are one of my favorite liners for the waterline and they have a smooth, creamy formula that don't tug on the lash line either. The tweezers and the eyebrow pencil come in really handy while traveling. Overall, its a lovely palette with quite a few wearable colors in a mix of shimmery and matte shades. I do wish that the lighter colors were just a little more easier to work with. That apart, if you do like jewel tones and metallics, this palette is nice to have!

What are your thoughts on the Anastasia Lavish Kit for Brows and Eyes?