Hidden treasures: Tarte Cosmetics holiday sets for 2017

A giftset that would make anyone’s heart flutter? One from Tarte of course!

The vegan beauty giant is always one of my favourite brands to look out for when it comes to the holiday season since they always offer such great value sets. Tarte’s products are fabulous, so when you get the chance to try a ton of them out for a reasonable price, you naturally jump on it. Thankfully they have a ton of options this season, some new limited-edition products, as well as value sets that would make any beauty gal (or guy) happy.

Tarte Cosmetics limited-edition treasure box collector's set Tarte limited-edition treasure box collector's set Tarte limited-edition treasure box collector's set

First up is their blockbuster set, the Treasure Box Collector’s Set, which contains pretty much everything you need for a makeup look, sans primer, foundation and concealer.  Tarte comes out with one of these sets every year and they always make a great gift.  At C$77 you are getting a C$540 value in here, crazy I know!

This particular set comes housed in a box that you open up to numerous goodies.  There are 24 eyeshadows in mattes, shimmers, and glitters, warm- and cool-toned blushes, two universal bronzers, and a pearlescent highlighter. Oh, and let’s not forget that compartment on the side, which houses some hidden treasures, such as a full-size Sex Kitten eyeliner and travel-sized Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara (one of my faves) and a matte liquid lipstick in the shade Grand (a deep rose).

In terms of value, Tarte and Too Faced always come out with the best value sets in my opinion. For under $100 you are getting over $500 worth of product.  This set will last you for years and it gives you a fantastic overview of the brand.

Makeup look using the Tarte limited-edition treasure box collector's set

I did a look using this palette, and like I said, aside from the foundation and concealer, this is the only thing you need to do a complete makeup look.  I want to note that sometimes with these value sets brands tend to diminish the quality of the product, but it’s not the case here. Everything is incredibly pigmented and I love the colour choices they went with. It’s very wearable.

Like I said, Tarte comes out with this kind of set every year, so if you’ve been wanting one for a while, scoop this up!  Sephora has their Beauty Insider discount going on until November 13 I believe, so Rouge members you can get $25 off of it ($20 for VIB and $15 off for BI, I believe), total score!

Tarte Cosmetics 2017 holiday gifts

Although I talked about the Kat Von D matte liquid lipsticks in my last post, another wonderful formula are Tarte’s Tarteist Lip Paints.  If you’re totally digging them but want to try out a bunch of formulas (matte and glossy), you’re in luck. The Posh Pout Quick Dry & Glossy Lip Set has eight minis of the Tarteist lip paints in matte and glossy formulas.

There’s actually two packages in here so this is a wonderful gift to split up between friends, one box contains four Tarteist Glossy Lip Paints in Eager (peachy nude), Crown (Blackberry), Gifts (Deep Mauve) and Cast (Raspberry), whereas the other has four deluxe Tarteist Quick Dry Matte Lip Paints in the shades Valor (cool red), Reign (cool mauve), Spice (plum wine), and Novel (cool nude).

Priced at C$47, but on sale right now for C$38, with an C$80 value, this is a great set to give as one or to split up as two. Tarte’s matte liquid lipstick formula is wonderful (I’m wearing it right now actually), and anyone who receives this won’t be disappointed.

Tarte limited-edition tarteist™ lip bling top coat and limited-edition goddess glow highlighter

Finally, if you’re looking for a little shimmer this season, Tarte has a special edition Goddess Glow highlighter. Retailing for C$46 (but on sale at Sephora and Tarte’s site), this is a golden champagne highlighter which comes in a large compact, enabling you to have this guy for many years. For formula is nice and silky and it has their Rainforest of the Sea complex to smooth skin, you can definitely go in with a heavy hand if you want a little more shine.

This isn’t the most overwhelming highlighter I’ve tried (I’m wearing it in the photo below), but it’s quite stunning and definitely layerable. It also comes in a stunning Moroccan-inspired case with embossing on the product itself.

Tarteist Lip Bling Top Coat in Tinsel

For a little lip shimmer, the Tarteist Lip Bling Top Coat is a lip gloss that comes in the most sparkly packaging. Although I would pick this up for the packaging alone, this is a non-sticky shimmering golden gloss that you either wear alone or layer over a lipstick to make it a touch more festive. The formula contains mango seed, shea butter, and vitamins C & E that will help nourish your lips, while looking fab. Although one can never have too many glosses, definitely gift this to someone who loves glitter.

Tarte always knocks it out of the park when it comes to their holiday sets. If you had to choose just one, I would definitely go for the Hidden Treasures set since it’s the most value for your money, and not to mention that anyone who gets it will instantly love it.

Are any Tarte items on your wish list?

Products provided by PR, all opinions are my own.

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Naughty or nice: Kat Von D Beauty holiday lip sets

Which holiday sets are you most excited about this year?

For me it’s always Tarte Cosmetics, Too Faced, and Kat Von D (oh, and Sephora of course). The holidays are always the best time to stock up on products that have been on your wish list since they always offer value sets that allow you to try multiple products and colours.

One of my favourite matte liquid lipsticks have always been Kat Von D Beauty. Her Everlasting Liquid Lipstick formula is one of my favourites, and when it comes to shade options, she was one of the first brands to put out some truly unique colours.

Kat Von D Beauty Everlasting Liquid Lipstick holiday mini set

If you’ve never tried the formula before then you must pick up the Everlasting Mini Liquid Lipstick set, which features eight of her neutral shades, including a new and exclusive shade. From nudes to browns to purples and even a black, there is a shade in here for every skin tone and occasion.  Seven of these are part of her regular line, and the exclusive shade, Madrid, can only be found in this limited-edition set. Of course you can wear each shade separately or you can mix and match them for a truly custom colour.

In case you aren’t familiar with the formula, the colour goes on liquid and then dries down to a matte finish. Compared to other matte liquid lipsticks out there, I have always found the Kat Von D ones to be very weightless and easy to wear. The colour stays on for the most part all day, but I have had to retouch throughout the day depending on what I’m doing (eating/drinking, exercising, etc.) The product is infused with natural ingredients, including vitamin E and sunflower seed, so wear is comfortable, but I do find it to be a touch drying after multiple hours of wear.

Considering that these are all nudes, I do think you get a wide variety of wearable shades in this set. At 3ml per product, you get a good amount to try out and if you really love the colour then I would pick up the full-size. Kat Von D also has a set which has all her shades in it I believe, but this particular set is wonderful since it retails for C$66 and gives you eight of the colours for the price of basically three full-size shades.

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Witches Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Exorcism Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lovecraft Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Ludwig Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Madrid Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Sanctuary Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Damned

If perfume is more your thing, then you’re in luck since the brand actually released two scents earlier this year, Saint and Sinner.  Considering that I’m a low-key perfume hoarder I’ve actually never tried her fragrances before, but if they are like the rest of her products, I’m sure they are fantastic.

Now if you’re like me and don’t really need a new full-size perfume, but totally open to trying one out and love the brand, then you’re in luck. Kat Von D has released two sets based on each perfume. Each set includes a travel-size fragrance along with a limited-edition shade in her Everlasting Lipcolour range.

I received the Sinner duo, which includes a portable travel spray of Sinner Eau De Perfum, as well as the shade Sinner, a midnight plum colour that you can only get in this limited-edition set.  Aside from how amazing the scent actually is, I would pick up this duo for the lip colour alone. Can we talk about how stunning that purple is?! At C$36 this set is a definite must, if not for someone else, then for you.

Lip colour aside (it’s so beautiful with a neutral eye!), Sinner Eau De Parfum has notes of patchouli, wood, and cinnamon, the perfect spicy floral scent for winter.

Kat Von D Beauty Sinner lip and fragrance set Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Sinner

There is also a Saint collection, which also has a travel-sized size of Saint Eau De Perfum and an Everlasting Lip Colour in the colour Saint, a peachy rose.  I haven’t tried that set, but I’m totally digging Sinner anyways.

There are a couple more items in the Kat Von D Beauty holiday collection, but let me know if any of these make your list for the holidays.

Will you be asking for any items from Kat Von D? Which ones?

Please note, I received this product from PR. All opinions are my own.

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Happy body, happy life: Positive gut health with Renew Life probiotics

This might be a little too much TMI, but up until university, I would get stomach aches all the time.

As a kid I didn’t eat healthy at all. And although that definitely took a toll on my body on more ways than one, once I entered university I really started to actively change the things I put in my body. You know what happened when I ate more natural food? Not only did I lose weight, but my stomach aches subsided and now it’s pretty rare for me to actually get them.

Gut health is super important to me. When I choose to eat — and for a lack of a better word — shitty food, I feel it and I feel it for a while after. I meal prep every Sunday so I don’t feel the urge to go out and eat processed, greasy food during the week (I have to say though, that weekends are a different story – hey, we’re all allowed to have fun!).  I’ve heard a lot about probiotics from friends, but since I usually try to make good food made from whole ingredients, I’ve never really bothered to look into them.

Until now.

Renew Life reached out to me a few months back and asked me to take a 30-day challenge to test out their probiotics while taking extra care of my fitness and healthy-eating routine.  They hooked me up with the Renew Life Ultimate Flora Critical Care 50 billion probiotic, The Keto Diet, and a Leaf by Bellabeat fitness tracker. Since I work out everyday and eat healthy for the most part, I thought this was going to be a breeze.

Renew Life Ultimate Flora Critical Care 50 billion probiotic,

And it was, for the most part.

I actually own an Apple watch already which I use on a daily basis to track my move goal anyways, so although I didn’t really need the Leaf by Bellabeat, it did make a cute accessory and did help me realize the things my Apple watch doesn’t do, like track my stress levels and sleep (it’s crazy accurate), and help me meditate before falling asleep at night (I love this feature in the app). As for the Keto Diet, although I did find the theory of high fat interesting, I was told by a nutritionist to keep fat at a minimum so it’s forever ingrained in my head to do so. I did make her ranch chicken salad recipe (with some modifications) and loved it so much that I did it two weeks in a row. That was the only recipe I tried since a lot of the meal plans were pork heavy, and being Jewish, I don’t actually eat pork (well, I try not to at least haha).

Anyways, fitness and health helpers aside, we are here to actually talk about the probiotics.  If you’re clueless like I was about what these actually are, let me enlighten you. Probiotics the beneficial bacteria that grow naturally in our intestinal tract. Its primary role is to aid in digestion, however, studies have also shown that they help with immune system function as well. The point of the probiotic supplements is to bolster what your body is already making, or to compensate for what your gut may be lacking in order to balance the good and bad bacteria. In short, you would take these probiotics as daily supplements that support healthier digestion and re-balance your gut flora.

Probiotics have also been shown to help with skin concerns since gut health can affect the appearance of skin.  In addition to taking probiotics, there are also several things you can do to improve your gut health, such as drinking plenty of H2O, limiting the amount of sugar, alcohol, and caffeine (all things I do on a regular basis).  Also, and this is kinda cool, studies have shown that having plants in your home and spending time with pets can help as well.

Renew Life Ultimate Flora Critical Care 50 billion probiotic,

For the past month I have taken one capsule of the Renew Life Ultimate Flora Critical Care 50 billion probiotic, which is ideal for people with chronic digestive issues or those who want to strengthen their immune system after a round of antibiotics.  This once-a-day probiotic features 50 billion active cultures from 10 strains of bacteria (as a comparison, typical probiotic yogurt contains one-billion bacteria). Not only are these good for your gut, but they may also produce B vitamins, such as vitamin B12, which can help boost energy levels.

Since I was travelling a lot this past month I do have some probiotics still left to finish (they have to be refrigerated since its a live culture, so I didn’t bring them on my trips), overall though, I have found that I have felt good, gut wise, and I’ve had a healthy digestive system (again, too much TMI?).

I’m not one to actually take multivitamins or anything like that on a daily basis, but I have been enjoying the way I’ve been feeling lately. I really like the idea of having a nice gut health and adding something new to my health routine. I have the fitness and the eating down (for the most part on the latter), but adding these extra little goodies that I can incorporate on a daily basis is always a plus in my books.

Do you take probiotics? What do you do for healthy gut health?

Please note, I was provided with these items by PR. All opinions are my own.

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