If there was ONE palette I knew I was getting from all of the holiday releases, it was going to be this one!
Urban Decay Full Spectrum
I mean how could I resist Urban Decay‘s Full Spectrum palette? It’s a full on rainbow palette! And after my disappointment with last year’s Vice 4 palette, this was a welcome change up to their holiday lineup!
Urban Decay Full Spectrum
I’ve not actually had the opportunity to play with it yet (still working away on my Metal Matte palette), but there will be a video tutorial coming as well as a Challenge Week with five different looks!
Philosophy is a brand I’m only starting to delve into, although I’ve always found myself moderately obsessed with them from afar. Surely someone out there understands what I mean by that… I’ve tried a few samples over the years, always loved their packaging and really liked their holiday shower gel scents, etc., but I’ve never really just gone full in and tried the width and breadth of their products!
But I am now, and I’m enjoying myself! Let’s take a look at two products from their Take A Deep Breath range:
Philosophy Take A Deep Breath Eye
Okay. Let me start this review off with getting something out of the way:
I do not believe in eye creams.
There. I said it.
I don’t feel they do anything for you that your moisturizer can’t already execute on your skin. I feel like they’re just the exact same moisturizer as what you can get in the larger tube jar, just put in a far smaller container with a jacked up price. So, with that in mind, you’re obviously realizing by now that I’m never going to rate an eye cream as anything other than adequate (unless I actually see visible results… which has never actually happened).
So instead, let me tell you what the Take A Deep Breath Eye Cream was like:
It’s a lightweight gel eye cream that was slippery, smooth and easy to apply.
It felt nice on my skin and sank into my undereye area and lids very quickly (much appreciated).
It did not have a scent (unlike its full face counterpart below).
I like the nozzle tip because it keeps everything sanitary every single time you use it.
I like the compact packaging – it’s easily squeezable.
Philosophy Take A Deep Breath Oil-Free Oxygenating Gel Cream
My tolerance (or rather, lack thereof) for eye creams out of the way, let’s talk about the product that I *LOVED*! The PhilosophyTake A Deep Breath Oil-Free Oxygenating Gel Cream is… (oh god, I’m going to say it… and it’s going to be cheesy…) a breath of fresh air. (Stop laughing at me!) Philosophy‘s site tells me this is a a moisturizer for “all skin types that helps improve the visible signs of aging while restoring and refreshing skin”.
I was actually a bit skeptical about how well a gel cream would work on my drying out autumnal skin, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this was one of the more heavyweight gel creams I’ve ever tried. That’s not to say that it’s thick and oppressive on your skin – it’s definitely not – but it has some decided thickness to it that made me feel good about applying it to my face after a shower. I don’t think this will be thick enough for my dry skin in the dead of winter, but it’s definitely good for spring through autumn!
Unlike the eye cream, this moisturizer does have a scent. It’s a very clean, aquatic scent (my favourite!). If you’ve ever sniffed The Body Shop’s Fijian Water Lotus then you’ll already be acquainted with the scent because I found it to be identical!
So those are my two cents! I can take or leave the eye cream, but the Take A Deep Breath Gel Cream is absolutely wonderful! Let me know what your thoughts are on eye creams because clearly I’ve got a strong opinion on them! Also let me know what you’ve tried by Philosophy – I’m currently dabbling with their shower gels and I’m kind of head over heels!
You can pick up Philosophy‘s Take A Deep Breath range on sephora.ca or on sephora.com.
The products in this post were sent to me for consideration.
Amazingly enough, even with the Sephora VIB Sale, this month has turned out to be a low spending month! Sure, this post is going up a bit early and I could potentially buy something before the month ends but I kind of doubt it. So this post is entirely my VIB sale haul!
Urban Decay Full Spectrum ($64 CAD sale price, regularly $80)
If there was one palette I knew I was going to be buying this holiday season, it was the Urban DecayFull Spectrum! As soon as I laid my eyes on it, I knew I wanted it in all its rainbow glory.
Urban Decay Full Spectrum ($64 CAD sale price, regularly $80)
I don’t know what’s been going on lately, but the prices of Urban Decay palettes seem to be going up rapidly lately so I was more than a bit shocked when I saw the price tag was a whopping $80 Canadian! Like what the HELLLLLLL. So I crossed my fingers and toes and prayed this wouldn’t sell out before the VIB sale. It didn’t, and I was able to get it at the $64 price tag which is at least REASONABLE. UD has got to callllm down with these price hikes though… they’re getting out of control!
Since I want to find out if I am desperately in love with Esqido lashes, or if it’s really just the cotton band that makes them so wonderful, I decided to pick up a pair of Huda Beauty false lashes in #11 Sasha. They also have a cotton band and they’re about half the price of Esqido. We shall see!
Sephora Collection Early Rise Mini Travel Eyelash Curler ($8.80 CAD sale price, regularly $11)
I got the Sephora CollectionEarly Rise Mini Travel Eyelash Curler because I really love how my current Sephora Collection lash curler fits my eyeshape and I’ve completely run out of curling pads for it (why don’t they sell them individually???). However, I am really not enjoying this mini size of the curler. It’s harder to use and just doesn’t feel the same. And oddly, I can’t use the curling pads on my older model because they just don’t fit the same way. So annoyed.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Taupe ($18.40 CAD sale price, regularly $23)
I’m a huge fan of the Anastasia Beverly HillsDipbrow and had previously gone through a pot of the Blonde shade. I felt like Blonde was a little too pea soup in colour and opted to get the Taupe shade this time ’round. Buttttttt Taupe is feeling surprisingly dark on me and I don’t know if it’s just because it’s been a long time since I’ve use Dipbrow (probably close to a year since I ran out), or if Taupe is just that much darker than Blonde. I’m still getting used to it, so we’ll see how I like it in a month or so.
And there we have it! Pretty restrained this month I’d say! Let me know what your favourite purchase has been in the last month – beauty or otherwise!
I am always happy to see more and more micro brow pencils being put out on the market. And I’m even happier when it’s a drugstore brand because it makes it far more accessible to everyone! The Maybelline Brow Precise Micro Pencil is here to elbow its way into the crowd of all the other brow pencils before it!
Maybelline Brow Precise Micro Pencil
And it actually delivers right up front:
The suggested retail price in USD in $2 cheaper than the NYX Micro Brow.
It also contains 0.005 ounces of product compared to the NYX Micro Brow which has 0.003 ounces (as does the ABH Brow Wiz, but that’s nowhere near the same price point).
And it’s got a spoolie on the other side (but I’d say that’s pretty expected now!).
Maybelline Brow Precise Micro Pencil
AND, amazingly enough, Maybelline has actually labelled this “Blonde” and, FOR ONCE, it’s a shade that’s actually appropriate for blondes. (Everyone else seems to go with “Taupe” and then they can’t get blamed when it’s not a colour match for your mane of hair). I also find it’s a better colour match than their BrowSatin Define + Fill Duo which I reviewed over a year ago.
Maybelline Brow Precise Micro Pencil – Swatch
As you can see from the swatch, the colour is blissfully cooler than it is warm. Nothing matches blondes worse than a warm brow colour (unless you’re actually strawberry blonde!).
Left – naked brow, Right – Wearing Brow Precise in Blonde
On the brows, this plays out like every other micro brow pencil: beautifully! It can shape my brow and give it the chunkiness that it’s otherwise missing. The MaybellineBrow Precise Micro Pencil applied a bit softer than the NYX Micro Brow and ABH Brow Wiz, but a bit more firm than the QUO Precision Brow Pencil (which is super soft).
The only downside I’ve noticed to this pencil is that the tip has broken off on me three times now. Just a very small amount, but it’d made me realize I need to use it a bit more softly. Aside from that, I love how it applies and I think the colour tone is perfect for my hair. I kind of wonder if I’m going to end up switching to this over the NYX Micro Brow. We’ll see once I’ve finished it how I feel, but if this one is definitely cheaper than the NYX one in Canada retailers then I don’t see why I wouldn’t change over!
