Nordstrom Anniversary Exclusive: Clarins FEED 15 Pouch

One of the first things that I knew I would get from Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale was the Clarins FEED 15 Pouch, purchase of which would provide 15 meals to school children through the United Nations World Food Programme. It was a meaningful collaboration and I was happy to support it!

The pouch contains three Clarins products; a Moisture-Rich Body Lotion (3.5 oz), Hand and Nail Treatment Cream (1.7 oz), and a Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in shade 01 (a light pink) and retails for 30USD. I love Clarins skincare but I haven't had a chance to try these body products yet so this will be my humble intro to the body lotion and hand cream. 

The quality of the canvas pouch itself is rather a nice surprise as it stands its own. Both the stitching and the zipper is sturdy and reliable unlike many run of the mill makeup pouches that accompany beauty purchases. It has the stenciled "FEED" on one side and "15" on the other accented with red. The FEED Projects website has a similar pouch for 25USD- which provides 10 meals. (pouch only no Clarins products)

Right now at Nordstrom, you can also choose a gift with purchase (there are four options) when you purchase two Clarins products. Normally, you have to purchase at least one skincare product to receive the GWP but the sales associate at my Clarins counter was nice enough to include the gift with my purchase of two FEED pouches which are technically, body care products.

Haul: Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate + Deluxe Samples + Swatches

A couple of weeks ago, I took advantage of the great Lancome sample deal up on the Lancome-USA site. I bought one thing, the Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate 0.67oz and ended up with 10 hot samples!
1. Teint Miracle (foundation) sample card
2. Creme Radiance clarifying cream-to-foam cleanser
3. Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate 0.25oz
4. Absolue Premium replenishing cream with SPF 15
5. Renergie volumetric lifting and reshaping cream with SPF 15
6. High Resolution Eye anti-wrinkle eye cream
7. Le Crayon Kohl in Raisin Noir
8. Color Design Sensational Effects Quad
9. Juicy Tubes Moulin Rose
10. Juicy Tubes Rose Quartz

Here is a size comparison between the 0.25oz, 0.67oz and 1oz bottles. There is also a 1.7oz size not shown here. I absolutely love this serum and am already onto my fourth bottle. I used other serums in between as I like to change up my skin care routine, but I find myself recommending this first to anyone who asks me about a good serum. It's light yet very effective and I can actually feel my skin "drinking up" the hydration. (One should note, however, that all skin types are different and what works for me may not work for everyone :)

Also, be sure to register with Lancome-usa.com if you plan to order from them since you can choose a deluxe sample with your purchase if you do. That's how I received Rose Quartz :)  

Voila, swatches. Rose Quartz is a sheer and shimmery terra cotta type shade (but it looks berry-ish in some lights) and smells like candy- although I can't really pinpoint what candy... Moulin Rose is a non-shimmery barbie pink, also sheer but still very pretty. This one smells like roses. Coral Rush is one I got with a previous purchase but I included it for comparison purposes: this one is a golden coral (golden because it has dense gold micro-shimmer in it) and smells like watermelons! yum....

Hope everyone is holding up in the intense summer heat we've been getting this week (or is it just the DC heat that's gone crazy?)! Also, is everyone excited about Nordstrom's 15 Year Anniversary Sale as I am? There's only a couple of things I have my heart set on (the Clarins Feed 15 Pouch- such a great cause- and the Jo Malone trio) so I don't know why I'm so excited but... I am... haha

Swatch-aroo: Chantecaille Lip Glosses & Guerlain Rouge Automatique Les Oranges

For some reason I always thought I didn't have a Chantecaille counter near me until there I was innocently strolling along through my go-to Nordstrom when lo and behold, a beautiful Chantecaille counter with semi-new testers out looking up at me like "You're late." What?! Why haven't I seen this before? More importantly, why did I never think of looking it up?

Click for a larger image.

I did a couple of swatches to share with you my joy in my new discovery :) Guava and Dragonfruit are shades from the Lip Gloss line (the ones in the silvery mini compacts with mirrors) and Sweet, Folly, and Flirt are shades of Brilliant Glosses. I was impressed with how light the lip glosses felt on the back of my hand and how natural they looked on my lips. The brushes on the Brilliant Glosses were super-soft. These retail for 28.00USD- not a bargain but pretty decent considering the price range of Chantecaille's skincare or her eyeshadow quads.

Next, some Guerlain Rouge Automatique swatches. I only swatched the four Les Oranges 140, 141, 142, 143. My favorite was 141 Quand Vient l'Ete which was a lighter coral pink and 143 Nahema, a more vibrant coral pink. These applied so buttery smooth on the back of my hand. I didn't try them on my lips so I can't vouch for how smooth they translate to the lips but I'm thinking they're probably pretty nice on the lips too.

So that's that! Any special plans for the Fourth of July weekend? I plan to spend it in the nation's capital with friends and watch some fireworks! Hope everyone has fun!

Haul: Benefit: cha cha tint & b.right! skincare

I just got back from my mailbox and discovered my benefit haul had been delivered! It took a while to get here- but I'm just happy that it found me safe and sound, albeit slightly squashed.  

I open up the slightly squashed box and there's fab Gabbi looking back at me (or so I think- I can't tell exactly under her chic vintage sunglasses) and pretty coral on white tissue paper wrapped around my goodies. 

Inside were: A summer 2011 benefit catalog, a sample of Girl meets Pearl, a sample of Pore.fessional and the two things I had purchased:

1. the b.right! radiant skincare 6 piece intro kit

2. cha cha tint (benefit's new mango tinted lip cheek stain)

ah! I'm super excited to try everything!

From what I've seen this particular 6 piece b.right! intro kit is only available @benefitcosmetics.com which is why I ordered directly from them rather than from Sephora which I normally would have done. This kit comes in a convenient travel-size plastic pouch and contains 6 of the total 8 total b.right! skincare products currently available. (It doesn't have the mist and the makeup remover.) They're a little smaller than I anticipated but I appreciate how benefit didn't skimp on the packaging and kept them looking like perfect miniatures of the full-sized products (just minus the cork material). I've always been rather fond of benefit skincare products (eyecon, firmology, dear john etc.) even though they get less attention than their makeup counterparts (coralista, hoola, benetint etc.) so I'm super excited to try these out!

Next up: the much awaited cha-cha tint! Youngest sister to passionate Benetint and sweet PosieTint, cha-cha is sweet and passionate! Here are some swatches of cha-cha with PosieTint. The photo seems to have intensified cha-cha a bit more than the color in actuality- it's a bit softer in real life. I love that it doesn't have any shimmer and that it has the more milky consistency of PosieTint rather than the watery formula of Benetint. I'm confident cha-cha will help me glide through the heat and sweat of summer with perfectly tinted coral lips!