Laura Mercier Eye Book

Laura Mercier's Eye Book is a Sephora exclusive and can be had for $45. I love palettes but like most people I am usually sorry I got them because only a few shades actually see any use and the rest are big 'ol waste of money. The Eye Book might just be an exception.

The Eye Book has 8 very wearable eyeshadows and a sensibly chosen black liner shadow. The double ended brush is great for applying the shadows and has a pointed end for lining.

The shades included range from great base shades to highlighters and on down to crease colors for day to night looks.

All in all a great palette for travel or everyday use!

Hourglass Vol. 6

Here is the Houglass face palette that I found at Sephora and have fallen in love with. This palette goes by the name of Zodiac for $58 and features 4 eyeshadows and 2 lipcolors.

Hourglass is not cheap makeup but it is fantastic quality and has the all the things you would expect from a high end line. The colors are silky and blendable with high pigmentation. I have never been disappointed with the color portion of this line.

This palette is very versatile with shadows that go from day to night, has a mirror that swivels all the way around and can be quite handy for application of the go.

You can find Hourglass at Sephora and Barneys.

Harajuku Lovers Set

OMG! I am instantly transformed into my teenage self and am drooling over the sheer cuteness of these little Harajuku Lovers heads filled with solid perfume.

Seriously I want all of them and don't know if I could part with a single one even if I hated the scent inside....really who cares they are just so damn cuuuuutttttte!

So setting aside my Pretty In Pink lovin', crush on Blaine teenage self, these are a fabulous gift for anyone who would be bowled over by the cute factor or you could split them up to give as little stocking stuffers.

My daughter is already hankering for these and I don't know how well we can share. There might be a tussle over the Gwen head.

This coffret set can be found at Nordstrom and Sephora and will set you back $60 but the cuteness of these alone makes it worth every penny!

Bare Escentuals - Diamond Lips

Someone over at BE must be a MAC fan because these are the most blatant imitation of Dazzleglass that I have seen so far. To be fair that isn't necessarily a bad thing as imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but then again they need to live up to the loveliness that is Dazzleglass.

BE's Buxom Diamond Lips have all the great attributes that make me a fan of the Buxom glosses. The fragrance in these is pleasant, the cool minty feeling is refreshing unlike some plumpers that make you feel that your lips are being seared off. Buxom gloss has pretty good staying power as far as gloss goes and is not overly sticky.

For the most part Diamond Buxoms follow the Buxom formula but the glitter in these leaves something to be desired. Dazzleglass had me scared when I read the description on the MAC site and it referred to large particle pearl. I figured this had to mean chunk city but while MAC avoided that, BE does not.

Diamond Buxoms feel a bit gritty and when the actual gloss disappears it leaves the glitter behind and stuck to your lips. This is a shame because the gloss colors are nice and the Buxom formula in general is one I love.

This limited set is $28 and includes 4 mini tubes in pink, raspberry, peach and mauve.

Stila - Gift of Glaze Set

I love Stila's Lip Glaze in general and a set of them in particular. This is definitely one of those one for me, one for my pal, gift ideas.

This six pack for $28 includes:

Vanilla - pearly nude
Brown Sugar - shimmering golden nude
Raisin - golden plum
Grapefruit - frosted pink
Apricot - melon nectarine
Gumdrop - vibrant pink

Raisin and Gumdrop are new shades and I am praying that Raisin joins the permanent line. I love the delivery of these click pens as well since its like having a lip brush with you at all times.

These sets are available at Sephora.

Make up For ever - Limited Palette

I love Sephora in the spingtime
I love Sephora in the fall
I love Sephora in the winter when it drizzles
I love Sephora in the summer when it sizzles
Why, oh why, do I love Sephora
Because my love is there!

My makeup love I mean....

Okay so I am sorry for that little moment I just had but really that song just begs to be sung for my love affair with Sephora. Seriously, I heart Sephora big time and wish I could camp there for a weekend and just play and shop to my hearts content.

This palette by MUFE is one reason that Sephora rocks my makeup world. This palette is very limited (100 of them to be precise) and is $390 and can only be had at, you guessed it, SEPHORA.com! It is filled with 30 shadows and blushes and is signed by Danny Sanz the creator of MUFE.

I would love to own this one but the price is a bit prohibitive for my MAC depleted makeup budget so if any of you get one please share all the details!

Tarte - The Vanity Limited Edition Palette

Oh my lord in heaven just look at this treasure trove of goodies ! I swear I nearly died when I spotted this one in Sephora on my lunch break.

I happen to love Tarte cosmetics but this set of palettes for $52 is a must have in my book. If I received this as a gift my heart would swell with happiness for the giver of such a gift is saying I LOVE YOU!

Here's what is in this gem:

16 full size eyeshadows
16 lipgloss pans
large luminizer and large bronzer
4 blushes
mascara
2 brushes

Wow, that is a whole lot of lovin' for $52. Check this one out at Sephora.

MAC - Little Darlings

Little Darlings, what an appropriate name for these little treasures! These lovely sets will be on counters today and are all priced around $30. They are practically gift wrapped for you so I say perfect gift giving item for pals or for yourself.

From left you have the warm pigment set, cool pigment set, Softsparkle eye pencil set, coral lips, pink lips, and neutral lip set. The lip sets have both Lipglass and Lustreglass in them but my real must have item are the pigment sets.

I love pigments! Truly they make my heart beat a bit faster when I spot them all lined up just ready for me to play makeup with them. Oh pigments how I love you so!

The warm set includes Gold Dusk, Gold Mode, Gold Stroke, Melon, and Reflects Antique Gold Glitter. I am buying 2 of this one as I do not ever want to run out of Gold Dusk, ever!

The cool set includes Frost, Quietly, Pinked Mauve, Teal, and Reflects Blackened Red Glitter.

The pigment sets are usually quick to go so don't wait if one catches your fancy!

Bare Escentuals - Pure & Bare Pleasures

I am a big fan of these annual 9 piece sets that BE puts out. With 9 eyeshadows to choose from at $48 I say ring it up! There are actually 2 sets one being sold at Sephora (Bare) and the other at BE boutiques (Pure).

Of the 2 Pure Pleasures wins my vote because 5 of the shadows are limited to the set while Bare is mostly color you can find in the permanent line.

Pure Pleasures has Pamper, Classic Rock, Shantung, True Gold, Cultured Pearl, Magnetize, Madras, Black Pearl and Caviar shadows.

Caviar is a deep midnight blue black that makes a great liner for any of the colors in the set. True Gold is a 24k gold that is a gorgeous BE staple and one of the best gold shadows out there from any brand. Madras is my favorite of the limited offerings. BE describes it as a neutral taupe but I think it has quite a bit of warm peachy undertones and it is a great one nearly anyone can wear.

As I have said in a lot of posts lately, this is a lovely gift for a makeup junkie friend or a lovely gift to reward yourself for all that early shopping!

MAC - Passions of Red

Here they are....MAC's annual holiday palettes. Between the packaging and the color choices this is a great collection and far better than they have been in the recent past. The most recent holiday sets in my memory were filled with hits and misses which left me passing on them altogether. These palettes are a vast improvement and are not only worth purchasing for your own collection but are very giftable.

There are 4 eye palettes and are pictured from left to right are classic, warm, smokey, and cool eyes. Warm and cool are especially lovely with cool having all exclusive eyeshadow colors. Smokey would be a great gift for someone who doesn't have a ton of MAC already.

The 3 lip palettes are coral, cool pink, and plum with plum being the clear winner and a favorite for me already.

All the palettes are $22.50 and come with a brush.

As I go to post this Obama is the projected new president of the USA. Whether you voted for him or not this is a historic and wonderful moment in our history. This is an election that you will tell your children and grandchildren about. After all this election proves that anybody can grow up and be our president which is a truly wonderful thing.

Stila - Step Out and Shine

This lovely Stila set can be had for $50 and with the exception of the mascara is worth every penny. I have tried the Multi-Effect mascara before and it didn't float my boat.

However the other products in this sassy little silver clutch are worth the 50 bucks alone. First the eye quad in shades of purple and the Convertible Color in Orchid are super yummy. Also the All Over Shimmer Luminizer is a favorite of mine. The real fun comes in with the Pomegranate Crush Lip and Cheek Stain. It is a little sneak peek on the next version of the very popular Cherry Stain.

My understanding is that Pomegranate will come out in full size next year but until then you can get your paws on this mini version now.