Worth the Hype? Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum

$48     1 oz

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Water*, Glycerin*, Butylene Glycol*, Ethylhexyl Palmitate*, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6,Polymethyl Methacrylate, Dimethicone, Palmitoyl Grape Seed Extract*, Caprylyl Glycol, Parfum (Fragrance), Squalane*, Potassiumsorbate, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Juice*, Sodium Benzoate, Xanthan Gum,Sorbitan Oleate*, Sodium Carboxymethyl Betaglucan, Citric Acid, Sorbitan Laurate*,Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Phytate*, Disodium Acetyl Glucosamine Phosphate, Myristyl Malate Phosphonic Acid. (*Plant Origin)

Availability: Sephora, Nordtrom, Dermstore.com

This serum isn't a new product but has been getting really good reviews from many well known beauty gurus. I've been a fan of several products from Caudalie so I thought I would give it a go.

The consistency of this serum is really light. It feels very comfortable on the skin and is absorbed quickly into the skin. Even though it's light, it hydrates very well. It contains hyaluronic acid, which is a great ingredient for hydration that my skin responds very well to.

My skin type changes a lot, almost on day to day basis. It ranges from oily to normal to dry. I've also been breaking out due to dehydration. This serum is perfect because I can use it no matter what skin type I have that day and it really soothes the irritation caused by dehydration.

I think it's definitely worth the hype. It's such a versatile product in the sense that it can be used on many different skin types/conditions. For oily and normal skin types, I use one pump for the entire face, followed with a light moisturizer. When my face is feeling dry, I apply two layers of the serum, followed with a richer moisturizer. If my skin is very irritated, I use it in the morning as well before my normal moisturizer.

I love this serum! It's been  featured in September Most Loved 5 and has made into my Hall of Fame. I recommend a product to all skin types, and that's pretty rare!

Fall 2013 Makeup Trend Series | Trend #5: Cat Eyes

Trend #5: Cat Eyes
Cat eyes were BIG on the runway. Literally. It's no longer just a feline flick. It's full on Amy Winehouse kind of cat eyes. It's a quite versatile trend. You can experiment with different colors, different shapes, and different placements. One thing I noticed is the clean edges. There isn't too much blending.

Anna Sui                                                                                                               Christian Dior

Dolce & Gabbaba                                                                                              Jason Wu

Lanvin                                                                                                                    Michael Kors

(source: style.com)

This trend is obviously not for a day time look, but it's perfect for a night out. It can be a very time consuming look because to keep the edges clean, you have to be very precise with the shapes and lines.

To help you create the sharp edges, take some Scotch tapes and stick it onto your hand a few times to make it less sticky. Put them at an angle following your bottom lash line.

I used a creamy black eye kohl as a base (Urban Decay Eye Pencil in Perversion). You want to be able to smudge it out. Draw the cat eye shape (the tail and all over the lid) and then even it out with a clean cotton swap.

Next, take off the Scotch tapes, and you'll have clean edges at the bottom. If there's any mess-ups, take a dark brown or black eyeshadow with an angled brush and create clean edges (Urban Decay Crave in Naked Basics Palette). If you take the lines too low or too high, use baby wipes or micellar water (like Bioderma) soaked cotton swaps.

Take the same  eyeshadow on a dense flat eyeshadow brush. Pad it on to the lids to set the eye kohl.

You can leave it like that for a black smokey eye. But I wanted to add some color so I put some shimmery dark blue eyeshadows on top (L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Midnight Blue). Be careful not to go over the edges!

Urban Decay Eye Pencil in Perversion | Urban Decay Crave in Naked Basic Palette | L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Midnight Blue

Take your time and have fun with it! Good luck!

That's all for the Fall Makeup Trend Series. I hope you enjoyed it!

Check out other trends if you haven't! Trend #1   Trend #2   Trend #3   Trend #4

Fall 2013 Makeup Trend Series | Trend #4: Grey Eyes

Trend #4: Grey Eyes
The grey eyeshadows are used very subtly, giving the eyes very soft definition and a foggy mysterious feel. It feels very Parisian to me. It just adds a little "je ne sais quoi"!

Prada                                                                                                                        Alexander Wang

Giles                                                                                                                         Marc Jacobs

(source: style.com)

This trend is very easy and great for everyday looks.

I used Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tough As Taupe as a base. It's a grey/taupe cream eyeshadow. Since it's very stiff and hard to blend, I didn't put it passed the crease.
Grey colors can look very dull so the key is to add a very subtle warmth or a subtle (satin) sheen. Here I used MAC Soba to give it a tiny bit of warmth and sheen.
Finally I used a grey eyeshadow (MAC Copperplate) on my crease to create some definition and blended it out with a clean blending brush. I also put it on the bottom lash line.

MAC Copperplate | Maybelline Tough As Taupe | MAC Soba

Check out some other trends if you haven't! Trend #1   Trend #2   Trend #3

Fall 2013 Makeup Trend Series | Trend #3: Warm Eyes

Trend #3: Warm Eyes
The runways really embraced the warm tone eyes, especially chocolate and orange colors.

Givenchy                                                                                                              Gucci

Victoria Beckham                                                                                           Jil Sander

(source: style.com)

Orange eyeshadows can look a little unnatural for day time looks. Here is the look I create with an orange eyeshadow. To make it more wearable, use a light warm brown as a base color (MAC Soba) , preferably matte or satin finish. And then go over with the orange shadow (MAC Rule) all the way pass the crease a little bit. Add a darker brown (MAC Brown Script) to give a little bit of definition, but don't pass the orange shadow because you want it to show up. Finally blend the edges.

If you haven't, please check out Trend #1 and Trend #2!

Fall 2013 Makeup Trend Series | Trend #2: Red Hued Lips

Continuing with the Fall Trend Series, let's check out Trend #2!
If you haven't seen the first trend, please check it out here.

Trend #2: Red Hued Lips
On the runways, the lips are either none at all or really vibrant lips. The colors are mostly variations of red: reds, wines, pinks, fuchsia, etc. There are many different textures as well. Some line the lips with a slightly darker color, some put most color in the center to create staining effect, some are matte, and some are glossy.

Christian Dior                                                                                                   Dolce & Gabbana

Lanvin                                                                                                                    Marc by Marc Jacobs

(source: style.com)

There are a lot of vibrant reds, deeper reds, brick reds, and of course true reds. Here are some of my lipsticks (and a lip gloss) that are suitable for this trend.

MAC Ruby Woo | Revlon Black Cherry | Revlon Candy Apple | Maybelline Who Wore It Red-er | NYX Louisiana | Clinique Spiced Apple | MAC Viva Glam Cyndi (gloss)

Fall 2013 Makeup Trend Series | Trend #1: No Blush

As we're entering the fall season, I want to do a Fall 2013 Makeup Trend Series to tell you about some of the makeup looks that appeared a lot on the Fall RTW runway. I will also apply these trend on myself to show you how I do it and what products I use. Let's get crackin' with Trend 1!

Trend #1: No Blush
On the runways, the base makeup has been really simple and clean. There's not much cheek products going on.

Atelier Versace                                                                                 Bottega Veneta

Diane von Furstenberg                                                                 3.1 Phillip Lim

(source: style.com)

It's really easy to look flat if you're not wearing cheek products. Either use a more dewy foundation or set it with a satin finish powder. I'm not blessed with strong facial structure so I use a really fine highlighting powder and a light contouring powder to give me some cheekbones.

Face
     Kanebo Freshel BB Moist Lift Cream in Medium Beige
     MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium
Cheeks
     Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Powder in Candlelight
     Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Cream Bronzer in Rich Bronze
Lips
     MAC Lipstick in Ruby Woo

Most Loved 5 of September 2013

This month's Most Loved 5 is in video form! I'm gonna try to do it for every month because these posts tend to get too long and dull. Hope you enjoy it!

Most loved products:
Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm (reviewed here)
Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum
Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm
Almay Liquid Lip Balm in Apricot Pucker (reviewed here)
Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Powder in Candlelight

Other products mentioned:
Bare Minerals Luminizer in The Love Affair
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle