Bloom Circle Bounty

Bloom is a whole new concept in social beauty shopping. Not only do they have a tremendous selection of fabulous brands, but the more you interact with your page, the more customized the recommendations. Once your friends join your circle, you can make recommendations to each other, share reviews and check out each others product choices and ratings. Once you customize your profile, you'll get product suggestions specifically tailored to your preferences. On top of that, for every dollar you spend, you receive points that work like CASH towards future purchases! They are constantly running special deals for their members (right now you get DOUBLE reward points) and you also get reward points when your friends sign up for their free membership. Their customer service is AWESOME. When I ordered my CAKE powder the container opened and a lot of it was spilled out. The sent me a replacement without even having to return the opened product, and I had it in just a few days to boot. A new feature is the samples you get with every purchase- WAY more than any other beauty site. To visit their site and start YOUR free membership, just click HERE.




Some of the goodies from this particular shipment that I've formed opinions on are as follows.

Cake Beauty Satin Sugar™ Hair & Body Refreshing Powder

Miracle worker

This is one of the best dry shampoos I've ever used! I love that you can choose different colors, so no George Washington wig. It smells delightful (kind of a cakey smell- go figure) and my hair was fluffy and had more body than than when it's fresh washed! Amazing on my greasy hair. I recently bought a second bottle as a backup because I don't think I can live without this! I've seen reviews where people complained about how much cheaper baby powder was. There's a REASON for this, folks! It doesn't take much, because you should only be putting this along your roots. As far as powder dry shampoos go, this one has yet to be topped, in my opinion. 

OPI Shatter in Black

Black was the first Shatter color, and seems to be the most universal. It looks especially good over pinks- I've used it over light to deep pinks with good effect. Other brands have come out with their own versions, but I've found the OPI to be far superior to drugstore brands. It goes on more smoothly and seems to last longer without chipping. (At LEAST a week- and I use my hands constantly at work) It's also super forgiving, there is really no messing up with this stuff. Every time I use it, it gets comments, even from guys. 

 Colorescience Pressed Mineral Pigment refill

Worth the splurge

Colorescience can apparently do no wrong in my book. This makes my skin look perfect, even with rosacea and the high SPF is exactly what I need. Silky and long lasting. You can control the level of coverage easily for everything from a light dusting to heavyweight blemish coverage, all without looking like you have on a mask. Strongly water and sweat resistant too. The refill is way cheaper than buying it in a compact, so I'm using it with a compact I already had.

 Stila E! Live From The Red Carpet- Breathtaking Beauty palette

inc- 6 eyeshadows in Cinema, Best Picture, Film, Academy, Theater and Drama. 1 Kitten All Over Shimmer, 1 Convertible Color Lip & Cheek Cream in Breathtaking, 1 lip Glaze in Guava. My favorite thing about the Stila palettes, other than their incredible value (this one is worth over $100 retail) is how they usually have a how-to application guide inside to give you hints on the best methods of application, making these a perfect gift for a cosmetic newbie. Lavish and seemingly indulgent, but without breaking the bank. I used this palette to do my makeup for a friend's art show and actually had a few women ask me what makeup I was wearing, in particular the Kitten shimmer. The convertible color is amazingly true to it's word, on my pale skin it provides a subtle flush of color without being garish, and on my lips it's soft and applies beautifully- I use this then put the Guava lip glaze on over it for a super sexy pout. Of course, all of my guava is now gone because I used it obsessively and every time I pulled it out of my purse, friends clamored to use it. This was a limited edition palette, so you'll have to do a little looking to score it, but you can generally find it for a decent price on Ebay or Amazon. Oh, and Academy? LOVE LOVE LOVE this color! It looks like it would be a standard issue champagne, but this stuff is so much more complex! It has a GORGEOUS shimmer that gives high drama oomph, and unlike most shadows that take me forever to make a dent in- I have also used this obsessively to the point of being almost gone. Just like all other Stila shadows, these apply creamily and dreamily and stay put all day (especially if you use a primer). OH! And they put stuff into their packaging to ensure that it biodegrades so they don't take up landfill space! BADASS! The shadows and convertible color are exclusive to this palette, but the Guava gloss and Kitten highlighter can be purchased separately. Seriously worth tracking down. 

 

Colorescience Sunforgettable Mineral Powder in SPF 50- if you read my blog, you know that I bring up this stuff more often than, well, something that gets brought up a lot. 

Ditch the goopy white sunscreens that leave your skin sticky or greasy, and switch to powder for a silky finish and long-lasting coverage. Colorescience Pro’s Sunforgettable mineral powder sunscreens are so quick and easy to use you’ll never go without sunscreen again!

 Colorescience Pro uses three different micronized minerals to protect your skin. Zinc oxide refracts light, titanium dioxide reflects light and iron oxides cool the skin. This perfect combination of sun blockers and skin soothers protects your skin from both UVA (aging) and UVB (burning) rays, ensuring your skin stays healthy and comfortable throughout summer. 

And since mineral sunscreens are physical blockers that sit on the skin (instead of being absorbed) and reflect the sun’s rays, it offers longer-lasting protection plus fewer side effects, making it ideal for those with acne-prone or sensitive skin. 

Cargo Blu-Ray lip gloss in Vermont with Time-Strip technology Made to emphasize lip perfection in high definition photography, this is a plumping gloss that fills in tiny lines and is shiny without being shimmery (which can look like going overboard in some photos.) I love the minty tingly flavor and sensation, and this shade is sheer enough that it can be worn with most colors (I like it with pink hues for a chocolate covered strawberry effect.) This is not the most long lasting gloss out there, but it's because it's not one tiny iota sticky. Seriously, this is possibly the least sticky gloss I've ever used. What makes it super rockin though is the Time Strip. You pop the little doohicky into the cap when you first start using it, and the indicator tells you when the gloss has gone south and needs to be retired. BRILLIANT! 

OPI nail polishes are a good old tried and true. Long lasting, awesome colors, and smooth application. While I do like the natural alternatives that don't contain embalming fluid and such, I just can't give up my beloved OPI.  Here's the colors I've been rocking constantly the last few months...

I'm Not Really A Waitress -I've seen reviews complaining that this is too frosty, but that's actually what I LIKE about it! When I wear this, I feel like a dragon lady (I mean that as a good thing). I suppose it's not for the meek, it's a damn bold color, but that's exactly why I like it! When I wear this, I want to drum my finger nails on hard surfaces and glower at people :-)

Sweet Heart is a pale, almost milky pink that looks lovely when just a few sheer coats are used. What grosses me out is when people glop on layer after layer trying to make it opaque but just wind up looking like when you get acrylics at the nail salon before they're painted (all fake and plastic looking.) 

Japanese Rose Garden looks SOOOO dainty and elegant! Very classy matte pink. 

A Rose At Dawn... Broke By Noon is another favorite. It looks so fabu when I put little cherry blossom nail decals on over it! Yeah, I got class written all over me. 

Stila Lip Glaze in Majesty

A very pretty sheer black cherry, this looks gorgeous over a lip pencil. I love these pens because they go on like a dream with just a few clicks. I find the best bets for the glazes to be around holiday season when you can get a pack of these bad boy bubbys for less than the normal cost of a single. That's the best way to go, since at least in my experience, I rip through these puppies like a hungry dog.

Matrix Biolage Antidandruff Conditioner
Oh. My. God. A dandruff CONDITIONER?!?!?! Awesome! It doesn't smell like a coal refinery? SUPER awesome! This stuff makes your scalp feel wonderful, it's very soothing and flakes and itch are gone. It smells like- wait for it- conditioner! It also leaves your hair really soft without weighing it down, AND it's not only safe for color treated hair, but actually GOOD for it! 



So what are you waiting for? Start YOUR free membership and join my Bloom Circle- just click HERE.