Beauty Steal! Anastasia Beverly Hills Lustrous Lip Gloss Set

With the holidays right around the corner, you better believe all those holiday sets, palettes and value sets are showing up left and right. To be honest, the holidays are a great time for you to purchase beauty products (for yourself or whomever, no one is judging). Why? Because usually companies do price certain sets and bundles for a great value, especially when you take the time to price everything out individually. One great example of this is the set I'm going talk about in my post today. 

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Lustrous Lip Gloss Set will run you $40.00 for eight lip glosses. Not two or even five...EIGHT glosses! OK, let me put it to you this way, one Lustrous lip gloss from ABH will cost you $16.00. Purchasing these eight glosses individually will run you $128.00 and this set is only $40.00, which means it's only $5.00 a gloss! So if you like at least three of the colors found in this lovely package, you already will have your money's worth. Even if you only liked two of the shades and were meh about the rest, these would be great stocking stuffers for family and friends. Just tie a cute ribbon on it and call it a day. The value of this set is ridiculous when you realize the price difference.

When it comes to the quality of the glosses, these are excellent. The set varies from sheer to jelly to opaque pigmentation so you have plenty to suit whatever mood you are in. They smell like divine vanilla frosting, while I may love it you may not. The packaging is simply but still lovely with the traditional ABH logo and a shiny black cap. As for the longevity, I have to say it's pretty on point. I can wear this the beginning of my work shift and three plus hours later when I head to lunch, the gloss is still noticeable and looks good.

When you purchase the set you will get the following shades:

Gilded: A metallic champagne gold

Dainty: Opaque retro pink

Sunset Strip: A fiery gold-flecked pink

Metallic Rose: Shimmery classic mauve

Weekend Barbie: Vivid bright pink

Date Night: Romantic ruby red

Socialite: Sophisticated scarlet red

Black Cherry: Moody purple plum

So which is my favorite? Currently I have been loving Metallic Rose but they are all quite beautiful and with this price, well worth the money. Perfect for a lip gloss lover and also a great way to introduce yourself or someone else you care about to the ABH Lustrous lip gloss line!

You can find this set online at Anastasia Beverly Hills and Macy's. You can also purchase this set in person at Macy's as well.

Review Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Pure Hollywood

Anastasia Beverly Hills has quickly become a very popular brand. It was no surprise that when the liquid lipsticks came out, everyone would be quick to snatch these up...including myself.

The shades from the line are quite beautiful, ranging from nudey pinks to even a metallic blue. Out of all the shades (before her newly released ones) I settled for Pure Hollywood. It's the second lightest out of the bunch and could be described as a peachy pink nude. Of course the color I wanted is the one that's hard to find. The few times I went to the Macy's stand, it was sold out. Finally one day I wandered in and they must have just restocked the liquid lipsticks because there were five Pure Hollywood's just chillin in their cubby spot. I took it as a sign and purchased it on the spot.

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipsticks will set you back $20.00 USD for 0.11 fl. oz. While it's not crazy expensive it's not inexpensive either. To be honest, ABH has some beautiful shades but if you are unsure of how your lips will react to a drying, matte formula, there are other options to try. Sephora Cream Lip Stains will cost you $14.00 USD and the ColorPop Ultra Matte liquid lipsticks will only cost you $6.00. The Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks cost $20.00 USD but comes with more product (0.22 oz.).

While I love the color I selected, I found this formula to be very drying. I know all liquid lipsticks will dry down to a very matte texture since that is what helps the staying power but this one was painfully dry for me. After about four hours, my lips screamed at me to put on some damn lip balm. As the color wears on, it settles into the cracks of your lips, making lips look quite dry.

The formula itself is very liquidy which means you have to be precise with application. The first time I applied this, I pressed my lips together and found it made the color uneven and patchy. So no lip smushing for this product! Once you let the color do its magic on your lips, it evenly settles and dries down.

Overall, while I am impressed with the color, the formula isn't the greatest for me. So unless there is another shade I really wanted (probably a darker, more forgiving shade), I won't be purchasing another of the ABH liquid lipsticks.

Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Medium Ash

I am a firm believer that brows shape and complete the face. I've seen those internet memes of celebrities without their eyebrows and frankly, they terrify and creep me the f*** out. 

Look at that!

Now thankfully I was blessed with pretty thick brows (thanks Mom!) but yet I wanted to shape and define them more. Remember folks, you want refined, shapely brows, not untamed shrubbery. Over the past years I have tried all sorts of drugstore eyebrow pencils but laughed at the results it gave me. Every color was too red or brown for my hair coloring and I ended up looking like a hot mess. I don't know about you but black hair and red brows is not a good look.

After hearing the rave reviews from pretty much everyone, I decided to bite the price bullet and purchase the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Medium Ash. Now in my indecisive way, it took me about ten minutes to decide which color to get. After a tireless battle in my brain, I settled for Medium Ash because I didn't really want to color them, I just wanted to shape them up a bit. I also rationalized that if the color was really off I could simply exchange it.

Well, if you came here looking for a negative review on this brow pencil, you're looking at the wrong place. I LOVE THIS! Overall, my brows now look more refined and natural as opposed to using drugstore pencils or eye shadow. 

This is a mechanical pencil with a wind-up mechanism, so you don't have to waste any product sharpening it. Which to me is great since it doesn't come with a ton of product anyway. You only get 0.003 ounces which will only last some people about two weeks with consistent daily use. So this is a bit of an investment especially if you need to fill your brows everyday. The pencil also comes with a built in spoolie to help brush the brow hairs in place and to soften the pencil if needed.

I think what really won me over was the color selection. There are a total of seven shades to choose from, allowing everyone to find a suitable color for them. The shades all have realistic undertones which add dimension and depth without looking fake or drawn on. You never want someone to say "you drew on your brows really great today!" Another plus was how long it lasted on me. I went to the gym after a lunch date and to my surprise, my brows still looked polished and untouched. I would say that if you have extremely oily skin, this may not be as smear resistant.

If you are sick of wasting money on failed brow pencils, take a gander at the Anastasia Brow Wiz line. You may sing praises like the majority of us!

Pros:
-Great shade variety
-Wind-up pencil
-Formulated with parabens, sulfates or phthalates
-Water-resistant and smear-resistant
-People with all brow types can use this (sparse or full)

Cons:
-A bit pricy (usually priced at $21 USD)
-Not a lot of product
-Not available everywhere

Would I Recommend/Repurchase? Yes and yes.