Bare Escentuals - Ruby Collection

Ohhhh, pretty. It was just that kind of juvenile I want, I want thought process that went through my head when I spotted BE's new Ruby Collection.

I love patent red bags and a croc print only ups my love it factor. Plus with all these set exclusive BE products this was an immediate purchase for me.

The Ruby Collection is $54 and includes the ruby clutch, Ruby Radiance, 3 eyecolors, a double-ended mascara with black and ruby, Ruby Buxom lipgloss, and 2 brushes with ruby handles!

I just can't get enough of the ruby red stuff that hits during the holidays and this set is no exception.

Bobbi Brown - Sunset Gold Collection

This new Bobbi Brown set has me salivating, seriously I need a napkin to mop up my chin! For many years I was silver crazy and shunned gold in all its forms. I have always chosen silver jewelry, accessories, and makeup. But lately I have fallen hard for some of the new gold eyeshadows that have flooded the counters this summer.

The gold I have a little obsession with is cooler and less brassy than golds of the past. They are elegant and remind me of fine champagne bubbling beautifully rather than the flashy 70's hot pants or 80's Dynasty dragon ladies.

No these new golds are crush worthy and I admit that I have bought more than I need but I just can't pass them up. This Bobbi Brown set is killing me though just as I am trying to budget for the holidays.

Sunset Gold includes a metallic organizer bag, Mahogany Ink Gel Liner (one of the best), Bronze Pink Glitter Lip Gloss, Sunset and Antique Gold Metallic eyeshadow for $80.

The shadows are beautiful and fit into BB's new palette system. The gloss is a gorgeous warm pink that complements cool gold eye looks flawlessly. Gel Liner in any shade is worth having and BB's bags are always handy and well made.

Check out this gold treasure at Nordstrom and don't blame me if you leave $80 poorer.

Nars Sephora Flame Lipstick

As I have mentioned Sephora is celebrating their 10th anniversary and many of the brands they carry are doing special sets or products in their honor.

There are more than a few that have caught my eye and the Nars Sephora Flame lipstick is no exception. Sephora Flame is a rich semi-matte deep brown red and is perfect for fall. This reminds me of the early days of Sephora when the SA's were required to wear red lipstick of one kind or another.

If you have ever hunted for a true brick red this is one worth considering. It is deep and dusky brown red and the formula will help it wear for hours.

Sephora Flame is $24 and can be found at Sephora soon or online now.

Stila Loves Sephora Can

Stila's offering to celebrate Sephora's 10th anniversary is the pictured "can" filled with goodies for $40. I personally love combos from cosmetics companies because it gives you a chance to try some of their best selling products at a great price.

Stila has included Kajal eyeliner in Onyx, Lip Glaze in Brown Sugar, Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer, Convertible Color in Peony and Mulit-Effect Mascara.

I can tell you from experience that Brown Sugar Lip Glaze is a great color that is not exactly brown but borders on a raisin and is very flattering. Plus I love the delivery on the click pen with brush applicator. Kajal eyeliner is very creamy and the black of Onyx is just as deep as you would hope.

Convertible Color is great for lips and cheeks and Peony is a lovely shade of raspberry pink. All in all this is a great buy or perhaps another gift idea!

Bare Escentuals - Mineral Veil Brush

Bare Escentuals is doing this exclusive brush for Sephora's 10th Anniversary for $28 and I don't imagine these will last long.

The brush is filled with Mineral Veil for on the go touch-ups and while not technically refillable it can be easily done as the bottom comes off. The actual brush also retracts which is a nice feature.

The real benefit is the portability of Mineral Veil because up until now the options have been limited and less than satisfactory. BE's compacts are bulky and often spill in your purse leaving a fine layer of Mineral Veil all over.

All the fellow beauty junkies I know plan on purchasing a few and are contemplating trying their favorite mineral foundation in it. I don't know how well this will work but I will keep you posted as to their MacGyver-makeup results.

Update: The bottom of this brush comes off easily but I think is best filled with Mineral Veil. BE foundation just doesn't apply lightly with this brush but if you like fuller coverage then you can give it a whirl.

Too Faced Quickies

Here is Too Faced The Quickie Chronicles Mini Collection for $60 and may just be one of the best sets produced for the 10th anniversary. It is an unbelievable deal with 8 mini palettes that have products for eyes lips and cheeks.

Each palette has a Hollywood pinup girl on the cover and I think this is a great one to give as a extra special gift or to breakup and give as small gifts or stocking stuffers. The eight palettes included are:

The Temptress, The Plaything of Passion, The Cupcake, The Starlette, 10 Year Anniversay, The Sure Thing, The Beach Bunny and The Summer Lover.

The Cupcake is a pink treasure and The Temptress is all about plums. 10Year Anniversary is my favorite but really I love them all! It is very hard to give any of the them away.

Sephora Red Lipstick

This week I will be featuring 5 new and limited products that were created to celebrate Sephora's 10th anniversary going on in the month of October. I think it is fitting to start off with Sephora's special lipstick that is a real beauty.

Sephora Red is a beautiful berry red that is encased in a black tube adorned with over 100 crystal rhinestones. This is a real showpiece and is definitely worthy of being pulled out at a restaurant table for a quick lipstick freshen up.

Sephora is one of my absolute favorite makeup shopping destinations and I love nothing more than fun limited products where brands pull out all the stops. I think that Sephora's 10th anniversary will have one or ten things that you will not want to pass up.

Bare Escentuals - New GSK

In Bare Escentuals speak, GSK is the Get Started Kit and they have reworked this kit recently. In my opinion these changes are very good and well thought out especially when it comes to foundation shades. For those new to BE there are always 2 shades of foundation in each GSK and the combos for the new kit make sense.

Also the Full Flawless brush has replaced the Kabuki in the kits and that is a godsend. The Full Flawless is a fabulous brush for mineral foundation application and gives you coverage flexibility that was tough with the Kabuki. The Kabuki just tended towards full coverage and I didn't like all the buffing/blending you had to do plus the BE Kabuki just isn't that soft and often felt like the rough side of the sponge to me.

Some other great changes are regular Mineral Veil for the lighter kits and Tinted Mineral Veil for the deeper shades. Plus the Lightstroke brush is included for deeper shades which BE recommends for concealing on darker skin tones.

All in all these are smart changes and the $60 price is a great value. BE is also including a gift with the purchase of the new GSK. At Sephora that gift will be a sample of the Prime Time face primer and at BE boutiques you will receive a full size Bread Pudding lipstick.

MAC Set Powder - Invisible

Here is my loose powder of choice. MAC Set Powder in Invisible is aptly named and described.

This powder is ultra fine, sets makeup and is indeed invisible. You also get a whopping huge jar for $24.

I have heard a few complaints about this powder and they mainly revolve around it looking powdery on the skin. First of all a very small amount is required to set makeup and overuse will look a bit white and powdery. It is a common thing with setting powders to assume if a little is good, more would be better. I am guilty of this one too.

Second this would not be my first choice for those will very dry skin but those will oily skin will love its mattifying properties.

This is a Pro Product and can be purchased at Pro Stores or over the phone from MAC. Checking out the MAC Pro website can introduce you to all sorts of products and some colors that you never knew existed that might not suit your everyday tastes but offer some amazing color choices.

Urban Decay 24/7 Sets

Okay these are must haves if not for yourself than as gifts. I know you don't want to hear that the holidays are fast approaching but they are! I am already scoping out good gift items and Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencils are a gift worth giving.

I have blogged about these waterproof pencils before and just want to remind everyone that these pencils changed the way I felt about pencil in general. I avoid most pencils because they either drag and tug at my eye or are so soft that they just smear and smudge everywhere.

Urban Decay has managed to make a pencil with fantastic color payoff, super silky texture that really glides on and the darn stuff stays put. My only caveat to this would be I can't get them to stay put in my waterline but then nothing stays there for me anyway.

These sets are $30 and can be found at Ulta or Sephora. Velvet Rope features deeper colors and VIP is brights with both sets including Zero a super black.