New to me - Kat Burki

Hello:

While I was visiting New York City I stopped into Space NK to see what they had.  They have the usual high end brands like ByTerry, Lipstick Queen, NARS, Cantecaille etc... but I was introduced to Kat Burki for the first time.

One of the advisors at Space NK was kind enough to give me all the samples above.  Kat Burki's line boasts:

Key ingredients include a proprietary herb blend that soothes skin, encourages cell turnover, protects against free radical damage, strengthens skin and builds elasticity, stimulates cellular regeneration and acts as a natural emollient.

Formulated with vita-nutrients, calendula, chamomile, orange peel tincture, grape seed and tamanu oils, essential oils and ocean minerals.

Formulated without parabens, synthetic dyes, sulfates, petrolatum and mineral oils.

 

The Signature Body Cream line is so rich and smells amazing - "Wrap your body in a silken embrace with the fresh and enlivening fragrance combinations of heavenly notes in Kat Burki’s Body Crème. This quick absorbing, ultra-rich crème offers long-lasting hydration with Tamanu and Jojoba Oils, while a proprietary organic herb blend works to calm and soothe skin, while restoring skin texture and rejuvenation!"  It's $62 for 6oz so it is an indulgence. 

 

 

The Sugar Magnolia smells just like that - not artificial, and the scent lasts and lasts. 

 

 

I also got the glossy lip treatment which is filled with Coconut oils and Vitamin E.  It does just what it says -super moisturizes and leaves your lips glossy (with no added color).  This is going to be great for the Chap-a-thon that I know is coming this winter.

 

 

Finally I have a sample of the Hand Therape - "Keep your hands nourished and healthy with this vitamin-enriched, deeply therapeutic hand crème. Designed to moisturize and maintain softness to even the driest of hands, Palm, Sunflower and Safflower Seed Oils lock in moisture to protect throughout the day. A proprietary organic herb blend of Calendula, Chamomile and more, work to smooth skin texture and replenish hydration!"  $42 for 4.4oz.  Super rich and doesn't leave a greasy residue. 

 

Her line also includes facial skincare but they were sold out - so I couldn't check it out! Her products are not cheap but they are made with quality ingredients so you are getting what you pay for.  If you looking for a lux treat this is it!

 

Have you ever tried Kat Burki products?

 

Jasmine

 

Inner Beauty Friday - Book Club!

I'm back!

Time for book club so I am linking up with Heather from Blonde...Undercover Blonde.

This week I read "Twin Study: Stories" by Stacey Richter.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads.com - "Cavemen Roam The Suburbs, Morality is questionable, teens are angsting, and alcoholics abound. This is the world as Stacey Richter sees it. In spite of--or perhaps because of--this alarming cast of characters, Richter's stories are infused with wit, humor, and keen observations of what makes humans tick. There is no sentimental hand-wringing about alcoholic or absentee parents, lost loves, or the most terrible suburban neighborhood Christmas displays. Richter's characters live, exist, play, and often drink too much because that is simply what they do. Carrying on is the only option. Richter writes with volatile energy, hurtling through her stories while coasting seamlessly between the regular and mundane. She sees the repercussions of bad parenting, forgotten kids, and while she may scoff, her caustic observations never demean her characters. By turns heartbreaking, mirthful, sardonic, and wise, her stories occasionally take a turn into the bizarre. Still, Richter's flights of fancy are not about whimsy or science fiction. They are one imaginative woman's clever and naked view of the absurdities teeming around her."

My thoughts: There are some wack-a-doodle stories up in here.  Each time you start a new story you have no idea where it is going to go.  If you are stuck in a reading rut, or don't have much time to read this collection of short stories will give you something new with a few page turns.  I really likes some of the stories and some not as much but in all it is a good collection.


Jasmine

I didn't die...I just went to NYC

Hello,

I have been seriously slacking on the blogging lately - I actually had a life there for like 2 weeks and it was to much to handle! :)

I just got back from a 4 day trip to New York City and it was wonderful!  If you follow me on Instagram you already saw about 20 pictures but I'm going to leave one more here and a promise to get back to business on Thursday!

Jasmine

September Ipsy Reveal

Hello,

I just got my Ipsy bag for September filled with all sorts of good stuff and I wanted to share it.  This month's theme was "Classic Beauty".

 

Yay! So much good stuff!  There were about 10 different brands you could get this month, other brands were Victoria Jackson, pop beauty, Jessie's Girl, Skyn Iceland and more! I was of course very excited to have received a Butter London mini polish 😃

 

 

The polish is in the color "La Moss", which I am guessing is a reference to Miss Kate Moss?  It's a very deep burgundy - reminds me of Chanel's Vamp.  Great for fall.

I also got a Starlooks eyeliner in Obsidian - I really have been wanting to try Starlooks so this is awesome.  I got a mascara by Elizabeth Mott (a brand I have never tried) called "It's so BIG!" (really, really??),  It's supposed to lengthen and volumize without smudging - which I could really use right now, my mascara lately has been all over my face it seems. 

I got a dusty purple NYX shadow in Morocco.  It is a very wearable color.

I was most excited to get Cailyn's tinted lip balm in "Big Apple" - this stuff is sooo nice it is so smooth, has a lips brush and it gives a great stain, love, love, love the color!

 

 

And here are swatches - from the bottom NYX in Morocco, Starlooks eyeliner in Obsidian and Cailyn lip balm in "Big apple", another great bag from Ipsy!  All these goodies for $10!  If you would like to Subscribe click HERE!

 

What item would be your favorite?

 

Jasmine

Inner Beauty Friday - Book Club!

Hello,

It is Friday again and time for Book Club!  I am linking up with Heather from Blonde...Undercover Blonde. 

This week I read Requiem by Lauren Oliver, which is the third and final book in the Delirium series.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads.com:They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.  But we are still here.  And there are more of us every day.  Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.
After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.  Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.  Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.  But we have chosen a different road.  And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.
We are even free to choose the wrong thing.
Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge

My thoughts - I liked Delirium, and Pandemonium was ok too, but the series really lost it's luster with this final book.  First of all the way the book starts off, if you haven't just left of reading Pandemonium you'll be like "wait, what??"  And then you just  kind of read along and nothing really shocking happens and then it just ends on a note of "sometimes love is good and sometimes it hurts".  Not the most profound novel ever.  I think the Hunger Games ruined YA Fiction for me - nothing is quite as good.

Anything good I should read?

Jasmine

Organize your Lips!

Hello!

I have been slacking as of late - It's hot, I've been working 10+ hours a day and I just didn't have anything that exciting to share.  But I got a few goodies in the mail this week and this is one of them!

A much needed lipstick organizer!  I actually ordered 2 - and I know they will be quickly filled.  I am way more apt to use things that I see, so I needed to get my lippies out and ready to go.  I got it on ebay by just searching for lipstick organizer - and you get tons of results like THIS!  (Please always check out the feedback from any seller you buy from!)  Mine came from Hong Kong and were $3.99 + free shipping, so if they were total crap it was no big loss :)  Now the acrylic is not as thick or as nicely "rounded" as the ones you can get at the Container Store - but it's also like a third of the price and it's going to go in my ALEX unit so only I will see it.

Here you can see it from up top and straight on - pretty much every brand fits in there (I have MAC, Avon, NYX, Maybelline Wetn'Wild and Lancôme in the front row)  Flower by Drew Barrymore is the only brand I had I couldn't get in there.  Second row on the far right is one by Sephora and it barely fit - so I hope that helps if you are wondering about your collection!

I also have hem sorted by Matte's and then crème reds, then neutrals etc...

And as you can see it fits nicely in my ALEX (in the deep drawers- the height when filled with lipsticks is too tall for the short drawers, but I have some "taller" lipsticks in there, if I only put in regular size ones it might work). 

I also read this article on Beautylish today about cleaning your makeup and I couldn't agree more!  Check it out Here - now they have a fancy spray - I just clean my lipsticks with rubbing alcohol. 

What's your favorite way to keep your beauty bits organized?

Jasmine

Milani Eye Primer Review

Hello,

I have heard nothing but good things around the internet Milani Eyeshadow Primer, so when I spotted it at CVS I snatched it up ($6.49), and decided to give it a 12 hour run.

 It's a "nude" flesh tone type color and it can be a bit oily if you don't shake it up a bit.

You only need about the size of a pea for both eyes.

Ignore my crazy eyebrows - I hadn't "done" them yet :)

It definitely smoothed out my veiny eyelids (I have it on the left) - I didn't really get to check how much it intensifies colors as I wore neutrals.



From the left: 8am, 2pm, 8pm

Unfortunately because the time of day the color temp of the pictures is a little off - but I will say from 8 am to 2 pm not much changed!  I took a nap around 4 for 2 hours - and so by 8pm it was rubbed a bit but it still kept my eye shadow and eyeliner in place MUCH better than usual.  And again at a price of $6.49, it's a total score!

Have you tried Milani's eye primer?  Do you NEED I primer? (I do!)

Jasmine


Inner Beauty Friday - Book Club!

Hello,

It's Friday once again and time for Book Club!  So I will be linking up with Heather at Blonde...Undercover Blonde. 

This week I read "The Facts of Life" by Graham Joyce.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads.com: "The Facts Of Life tells the story of an extraordinary family of seven sisters living in Coventry during the Second World War. Presided over by an indomitable matriarch, the sisters live out a tangled and fraught life that takes them through the Blitz, war work and on into the hopeful postwar years, and a bizarre interlude for one of them in a commune. And through it all wanders the young son of one of the sisters, passed from sister to sister, the innocent witness to a life that edges over into the magical."

My thoughts: First, I don't understand the title at all, and two, there were some explicit sexual language throughout the book (and I am NO prude) but I was instantly reminded this was written by a man. I thought this was going to be a historical fiction novel about seven sisters all helping to rebuild England after the war.  Well, it is about 7 sisters, one in particular who is, well more than psychic, and her son.  All the sister help raise the son a bit, but you don't get to know about them.  It's more of a weird romp thru the 1950' in Coventry, England if you were psychic and your family just let you do whatever, but your mom knew when you were going to get into trouble because she's psychic too.  I didn't dislike the book - I just didn't quite get it.  It was interesting, but random and boring a bit at times.  This is one you either love or are like "meh", I'm on the "meh" side.

Until next week!

Jasmine


 

KB Shimmer - Hex Appeal

Hello,

Today I wanted my manicure using KB Shimmer Hex Appeal and Maybelline Color Show in Sapphire Siren.

I used two coats of Sapphire Siren to create a deep base.

As you can see I didn't worry too much about making it perfect, because Hex Appeal has a navy translucent base I figured would mask flaws.  This particular Color Show polish is rather thin and I had a hard time keeping it from pooling down at my cuticles.  If you were going to wear just Sapphire Siren you would need 3 coats for sure.

Then I added Hex Appeal and the magic began!

 

The translucent base gives it a really neat bit of depth, I used two thin coats and then a top coat of KB Shimmers Clearly On Top.  It is shiny and oh so sparkly!  I didn't have to work the glitters on too much, there was a fair amount in every swipe.  I think this would also be pretty over a deep fuchsia base as there are quite a bit of small fuchsia glitters in there. 

Hope you all are having a great week!

Jasmine

End Of Summer Giveaway!

 Hello!

For the past few weeks I have been thinking about doing a giveaway.  Yesterday was my 400th post, this month is my birthday, etc etc... but I was having a hard time coming up with a good prize.  I feel like there's nothing new on the market that's both cruelty free and suits different skin tones, these 2 things are important to me because I have a variety of readers.  So to buy more time, I teamed up with a whole lotta people to bring you one BIG prize!

That's a whole lotta $$$$.  I know these are kinda of a pain to enter but wouldn't it be Ahhh-mazing if you won?  So go ahead and enter and good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

I know these kind of giveaway aren't the most personal but wouldn't it be awesome if you won! 

And maybe you'll find a few new fun blogs along the way!

If you have an idea for my smaller giveaway leave it in the comments - I need all the help I can get!


Jasmine

The Starting Off Project - Week 2 Concealer

Hello!

Once again it is time for the Starting Off Project!  This week's topic is Concealer.




Concealer is a really amazing product - a lot of time it's all you really need.  In a pinch I would rather just have concealer, than a foundation, or BB cream etc...

I like a full coverage concealer, products with a wand applicator like the unmistakable YSL Touche Éclat - don't really do it for me.  I know their luminizers primarily but I find almost any concealer with the brush applicator is really too thin to conceal and is more suitable to highlighting.

I believe in using concealer after foundation to cover any lingering redness, or dark circles.  I also often like to use it alone instead of any foundation, because if you follow a good skincare regime as I discussed Last Week, you don't need much.  Just a little somthin' somthin' to cover up trouble spots, the with a little powder and blush you are good to go!

Some of my favorite concealers are Hard Candy Glamoflauge, Kat Von D Lock-it Tattoo Concealer, and Quo Mineral Concealer (available only in Canada I believe). 

Here is one of reviews I have done - it makes quite a difference!
 Quo Mineral Concealer

The main problem I notice with concealer use is people use WAY TOO much!  Use a light hand!  Also set it with just a smidge of powder for more staying power but, again use a light hand because too much powder will make it cakey.  For under eye concealing you may have to go a little more yellow if your circles are very purple or more salmon toned if they are blue.  The key is truly trying different formulas and finding what is right for you.

What are your concealing secrets?

Jasmine

New to me indie polish - K.B. Shimmer

Hello,

I recently placed an order thru K.B. Shimmer for some lovely polishes!   If you check out her site be prepared to want them all!

I got The Grape Escape & Hex Appeal - $8.75 ea.

 

You can't really tell how pretty they are in that picture (it was taken in natural light).  The Grape Escape is a dusty purple matte with turquoise shimmer.

 



I kinda caught it in the picture above, I like it because it looks good matte and glossy!

Hex Appeal is all sorts of glittery hexes and small dots in a navy blue translucent base - this will look great over a navy polish base.

Here they are swatched - again I just couldn't capture how pretty The Grape Escape is.  I plan on using Hex Appeal this week so you will be seeing it again soon!

Jasmine