Anastasia Beverly Hills: Lash Genius and The See and Be Seen Kit

When I was contacted by the people of Anastasia Beverly Hills, I was on cloud 9! I am familiar with Anastasia Beverly Hills as they have been written about in almost every glamour magazine I read. And just about a month ago, there was a recent photo of Oprah leaving the Beverly Hills studio, as she has her brows 'done' there. And, it doesn't stop there, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Selena Gomez are clients as well.


Let's talk about what Anastasia Beverly Hills is all about. First, here is one of the products they sent to me...

All of these items are new and you can find them in fine department stores, Ulta, Sephora, and of course, their 2 salons in California and online.


I opened this box first...

This is a ViewFinder. I had to laugh and then run and show the hubs this. When I was a kid, Grandma had one in our toy box at her house. There were photos from all over the world on several discs. Wow...what memories. And there was no manual, nothing electrical or battery-operated with this toy. And, Anastasia provided one to travel the benefits of their products. How cool!

Then, I opened the next box...

This is the 'See and Be Seen' kit that has some of their newest products included. In it are two HydraFull Gloss colors in 'Heiress' and 'Plastic'; the new caramel tinted Brow Gel; and ILLUMIN8 Shadow duo called 'On Set'.

First, let's visit the brow gel...

This gel has just a hint of color, as you'll see in my photo shortly, and has fortified botanical hair conditioners and essential oils. This is truly a gel and isn't anything like using a regular mascara on the brows. What a better way to keep your brow hairs in great condition as well as in position.

The shadow duo 'On Set' is easy for me to recommend because not only are the shades pretty, but also complimentary nude colors that will work with most complexions...

 

What pretty colors and I wish I could have captured the shades better. They are a soft pink and a golden hue. These shadows can be used wet or dry.


There are two exceptional lip tints which help hydrate the lips as well as make them appear fuller. I need both of those benefits! And, as a pleasant surprise, this gloss actually stained my lips so the color really does last a long time. And I'm talking all day...

As you may have noticed, the applicator is a plastic spatula. It's flexible but it was different for me to use. I have seen many artist use a palette knife rather than brushes to create paintings. This is the same concept. It was tricky for me to apply but after the first few times, I was getting the hang of it. However, this isn't a gloss I'll be able to apply without looking in the mirror.

The first swatch is 'Plastic' and the middle swatch is 'Heiress'. The next swatch is the Brow Gel.

And here I'm going to rave about the shadows. I'm often using the cliche that shadows apply like butter. So, what's the next thing beyond that? Because, that is what these two are! Go back and take a look at those swatches...they are just one stroke with the sponge applicator!! Naming it 'ILLUMIN8' is spot on. And Anastasia added in a bit more too; it firms and smooths the appearance of the skin while softening and hydrating it. I am swearing on the Vanity that it does.


This is 'Lash Genius'...

 

 Your favorite mascara isn't waterproof? No worries! Anastasia has got you, and your lashes, covered. 'Lash Genius' is the first of its kind as it will instantly waterproof any mascara. Oh, my goodness, is this perfect for hot and humid summer days. 

So, with your own mascara, 'Lash Genius' will promote healthy lashes by keeping them from being brittle, breaking and being pulled out like with some waterproof mascaras. Heck, you can even use it with false lashes! After you put on your falsies, add your mascara and top it all off with 'Lash Genius'. It will even help seal down the falsies allowing them to look more natural.

So, there is no tint to 'Lash Genius'...

I have to show you a little experiment I did...

I put on Kleancolor's Chick Flick mascara on both eyes, and only used the 'Lash Genius' on my LEFT lashes. IT made them appear fuller.

 Ohh...scary nose! Don't look at THAT! Look at my eyes!

 There I am wearing 'Heiress' HydraFull Gloss.

And I used the 'ILLUMIN8' palette for these looks.


But I wanted to show you that Anastasia's shadows play very nice with other makeup I already have...

 And I'm wearing 'Plastic' HydraFull Gloss.

I used a matte purple on the outer third of my lids from the 'Dancing In The Clouds' Wet 'n Wild collection. For the brow highlight, I used another Wet 'n Wild palette from the baked limited edition set. I also used Wet 'n Wild's liquid eyeliner in brown. In all the photos, I am wearing the Brow Gel. I used 'Lash Genius' over my Kleancolor mascara on both eyes.

The 'See and Be Seen' kit is $44. The 'Lash Genius' is $21. (Edited to add, all these products in this review are cruelty-free!!)

And last, I want to share with you a video clip provided by Anastasia Beverly Hills on how to use the 'Lash Genius'...

You don't have to limit yourself to just this one video. Anastasia Beverly Hills has a YouTube channel where you can get a lot of tips on using their collection of products.

These products were provided to me for my honest review. These are my honest opinions.

You Know You Want The Entire Collection: LA Colors Flowers Palettes

Thankfully, being a beauty blog reader, and then a blogger, I have found that I am not alone wanting to own an entire collection of anything from nail polishes, to lip glosses to eye shadows. And, how easy is it to afford such an obsession if it is at the Dollar Tree. 

So, when I found a new-to-me collection of LA Color shadows, it was chump-change to get all five...

 

 

 

This are named after flowers but I found that nothing about the flower coordinates with the shades.

Doesn't matter to me. I find them uber-pretty...

 

 

 

OK, OK...I know. Sometimes Dollar Tree makeup can be chalky and just plain cheap. And, I will agree. However, I have found that in the past 4 or so years, LA Colors has gotten a lot better. This collection is the best so far.

Here I swatched Water Lily and Orchid...

I'm not going to fib, these are so smooth, I had to double check that they were not creams. The swatches, that's just 2 strokes each with the sponge applicator. Butta-smooth. I found these so easy, kindergarten easy, to work with. In fact, I loved the way they looked so much, I'm going to actually do an EOTD (eye of the day) look.(There's your warning!)

The embossed shadows will make for some pretty MOO cards. I use MOO for the blog's business cards. I can use my own photos. Here's one that will be in the selection next time...

If you find any of these at your Dollar Tree, find one or two, or all five, that you like and have fun...because you won't go broke.

Have you seen these?

MOO cards are purchased on my own. If you choose to use the hyperlink in my post, I will get credit with MOO. 

I Spy...New Cover Girl EyeShadow Palettes at Wallgreens 5/24/2012

I had to do a double take on the model for this new Cover Girl display...

That's Taylor Swift looking all saucy! She's all smokey-eyed with these new palettes...

I love the color combos of these too. I was in a hurry and didn't spend a lot of time checking these out. But snapped these photos to show you. This display was only set out yesterday too.

Have you seen it yet? What do you think of 'virginal' Taylor getting sultry on us?

I Spy Wet 'n Wild and Sinful Colors at Walgreens 3/19

My sarcastic words of wisdom will have to wait. My USB ports aren't working on my computer. They worked yesterday, though. I'm sure there is some karma in that but I haven't figured it out yet.

Did you enter for my birthday giveaway? If not, you'll get left out. Go here and enter, K?

Luckily, I spied some stuff on Monday at Walgreens to share with you. Hee heee!

Any time you find a combo set of Wet 'n Wild, it usually has pieces that were sold separately before. A company will do this because they have overstock and packaging it this way allows them to, hopefully, still make a profit. However, I do not think I have seen those eye shadows before. Maybe someone will post a comment and let me know. I know I don't have the shadow set in the Flora Collection.

And, if you are looking for more Wet 'n Wild deals, I have this for you...

I didn't look over this display very hard. Looking quickly, I didn't see anything new, to me. But the price is very good if you are looking to add to your Wet 'n Wild stash.

This display is called a 'sidekick' display. It's hung on the side of an endcap, or the shelves at the end of an aisle. Walgreens does this a lot. And when Wet 'n Wild has these, they usually are in a cardboard shadow box, just like the one you see here. What store associates like about them is that they come pre-loaded. That means all the pieces are already in place. They just pull this display out of the shipper box and hang it up. When the display sells down, they just take down the box and throw it away.

I read that Sinful Colors had a collection of lip glosses out. And, I am glad to have spotted it...

I was dashing into Walgreens to look for the Sinful Colors collection called 'Girls in Pearls'. I found them and just did a quick run-through looking for other new stuff. That's why I didn't get close-ups of these. As far as for me, I bet I can match up everyone of these beauties to something identical in my gloss drawer at home. Let me say that these are sexy glosses and I encourage you to check them out.

And lately, I have been spying more and more chameleons. Look at her, she is wearing neutral makeup...at the moment. Ha!

I Spy....Katy Perry False Eyelashes and a Neutral Palette

Even though I haven't read anything new in the beauty world that has piqued my interest, I still look. Yet it can be like going into a candy store with a $20 bill! There are some coming soon products I want but I'm trying to wait....oh, please hurry!!!!

I did find a display of Katy Perry's false eyelashes at Ulta though...

There are four different styles and I don't think any of them are demure. But then, Katy isn't demure, herself!

I like falsies that are just a bit less dramatic. But if you want to bat some serious lashes, these are some to try.

Last week, I went into Forever 21. I had no business in there, as I'm trying to maintain a budget on products, but I had to see if they had any new, spring nail polishes. I did find some but, I also found this...

Rats! What do I need another shadow palette for!!? Well, here's how I talked myself into it. I would love to get the new Urban Decay Naked 2 set. But I'm too stingy to pay $49. However, this love & beauty palette of neutral shades was only $9.80. Wow! That's a bargain and it could quench my Naked 2 thirst. It has for the past 6 days...

I'd never tell you that this palette even comes close to an UD palette; I know better! But they are pretty. There are shimmers and mattes and I haven't found a chalky one yet. In fact, all that I have tried, so far, have blended really good.

Naturally, I could just fawn and drool over a new, unused palette, without touching any...

Have you ever played 'shadow roulette'? I randomly pick three shadows and make a look with them. I do cheat a bit and preselect a brow bone highlight color. It flexes my makeup creativity, all just for fun. And when I learn how to take decent look of the day photos, I'll share these with you.

Have you played 'shadow roulette'?...anyone?....no? (OK, forget that I told you about this and asked the question.....) But....

...how are you doing with your beauty/nail polish budget so far this year????