Laura Mercier Mini Caviar Stick Eye Colour Collection 2014 Review and Swatches

Great set…warm and most are shimmery or even metallic.  But they are lovely, blend and wear well and mix together beautifully (to create complete looks).  And they're a great deal.  Makeup I will wear…

Bite Beauty Matte Creme Lip Crayon in Aubergine Review

Gorgeous formula.  Fuchsia purple shade.  Satin matte that wears to a soft fade.

Lancome Parisian Nights Hypnose Dazzling Soiree Parisienne 303 LTD

Pretty charcoal green with shimmers of gold…reminds me of Nars snake eyes with a Chanel or Dior cushion texture.

Lancome Holiday 2014 Beauty Sensations Party Plums Makeup Set

Very pretty set…I buy this every year for the makeup remover and mascara then the rest is basically free!  This year I also wanted the plum blush.  Very smoky purples and a complete look.

Tom Ford Private Blend Collection Mini Set Review Holiday 2014

Ooh…so lovely and decadent…the perfect gift….

Charlotte Tilbury Sex on Fire Cheek to Chic Blush Review and Swatches

Lovely soft and creamy formula…

Too pink and pigmented for me (so pigmented!!!)?

Tom Ford Lip Color Matte in Black Dahlia 10 and First Time 9 Review and Swatches Holiday 2014

Lovely formula and lovely colors….worth $50?  I don't know…

First time…a soft peachy pink nude.

Black Dahlia…a grape with warmer red-pink undertones.

More satin matte than matte but the formula for both wears beautifully.

Bite Beauty High Pigment Lip Pencil Set Holiday 2014 Swatches, Review and Compared to Last Year's Set

Very similar but I do like this year's set a little more (less bright…pinkish…fuchsia…).

And it's a great product at a great price.  4 at .05 oz for $25 versus 1 at .09 oz and $24.

Last year top left…this year bottom right...

NYX Simply Vamp Lip Cream in Aphrodisiac 3, Bewitching 4 and She Devil 6 Review and Swatches

Love…love …love…but I wasn't so fond of the nudes…go figure…

Aphrodisiac, Bewitching and She Devil.

NYX Simply Nude Lip Cream in Peaches, Disrobed, Fairest, Honey and Sable Review and Swatches

The formula and finish were a little inconsistent in my view.  Blend out and add a gloss?

 I liked Sable and Disrobed the best.  Peaches is a bit of a milky disaster on me.

Peaches 1, Disrobed 3, Fairest 4, Honey 5 and Sable 6.

Arabian Oud Woody Intense Fragrance (Perfume) Review

A deep rich scent, heavy with musk and our when first applied.  It softens and the rose, saffron and incense (patchouli) begin to take over.

Lovely, unisex.  Very unusual on the dry down..great mix of scents.

See more in the video...

Tocca Simone Eau de Parfum Review

A mix of softly scented and not sweet fruit with a twist of lemon.  Exotic but understated flowers, mixed in with an aquatic undertone.  Then musk and incense, a little depth and saffron.  Wow…and unusual scent.

Only problem…wear time isn't the best (it settles into a softer version of itself).

And I love the Tocca bottles!

Gucci 80 Aquamarine Dream Magnetic Shadow Quad Review and Swatches

A little too frosty and cool toned for me.  Also too much color…so I added a little black and like it better.  See it on…and tell me what you think….

Formula is nice but I don't think it lives up to Cosmic Deco.

Murder on the Ile Sordou by M.L. Longworth Book Review

Murder on the Ile Sordou is an atmospheric murder mystery set on a small island in the south of France.  Located near Marseilles, Ile Sordou is a new hotel opening on an almost empty island and catering to high end tourists.

We begin learning about our cast of characters by living with them (and inside their perspective) as they arrive at the island and live their lives.  I got confused as the author jumped quickly from one to the next…but the device came together at the end.

M.L. Longworth has written three other books in this series, that each follow a French judge and his law professor girlfriend.  We also meet an out of luck (formerly famous) actor, his wife and her teenage son.  The best friend of the law professor.  Various staff members as well as the couple who own the hotel.  An american couple.  A retired teacher.

This book works well if you like these types of stories…which get into the day to day lives of the characters until interrupted by a murder.  The narrative is intimate and local.

I liked the book.

Gucci Nude Freesia 40 Sheer Blushing Powder Review and Swatches

Super lovely warm pink with a soft shimmer.  Very pigmented - but blend able - so it will work on most.  Lovely.

Gucci Iconic Red 390 Luxurious Moisture Rich Lipstick Review and Swatches

Perfect Red.  Neutral, medium dark…amazing formula with a lovely gloss.  Reminds me of D&G.  Much prefer this formula to the Gucci Audacious…

Juliette Has a Gun Midnight Oud Eau de Parfum Review

So exotic!  Learn about the scent and Oud as well.

Do I love this scent!  Yes.  Ah, but why...

The Genesis Code by Jaime Metzl Book Review

The Genesis Code by Jaime Metzl is a fun book.  It takes place in 2023 in a world where China controls a lot (too much) and the US is recovering from defaulting on its debt.  And women in their 20s are turning up dead.  A Kansas City Star reporter, Rich, begins to dig deep and discovers that a mega preacher who is the major support for a Presidential candidate might be behind what seem to be murder.

The situation spirals out of control and soon Rich and the policeman who brought him into the murder case are banned from looking into it further.  An autopsy is faked and other suspicious circumstances pile up rapidly.  Life gets dangerous for those searching for an answer as to these women's deaths.

Metzl creates a compelling story and likable characters. I couldn't put the book down.  The jump to 2023 isn't fully developed and could have been left out.

Overall, I very much enjoyed the book and recommend it…as an old fashioned thriller with a futuristic genetic engineering twist.

The Human Body by Paolo Giordano

The Human Body by Paolo Giordano is a well written but painful book.  Giordano has chosen to tackle the heart rendering story of a mission in Afghanistan gone bad.  And, of course, people die.

The book begins slowly, with men looking back and in pain.  But that introspection and regret lasts only a few pages.  Then we find ourselves captured in the daily lives of men headed to a mission.  I found the early pages of the book very masculine, dealing with men wanting to get laid…then dealing with that issue again..and again. This book really delves into the minutia of men's lives and thoughts…mostly younger men.

Then we're in Afghanistan and again dealing with daily problems and issues, conflicts and fears.  But Giordano is setting his readers up by letting us get to know his readers in their normalcy.  For soon we head out on the fateful mission and all will not end well.

The book is well written.  Atmospheric and tightly controlled, us readers live in a small world.  Some will love that discipline but others will want to see the locale and learn about things more outside these men's internal thoughts and the base itself (plus their actual homes).

I enjoyed the book.  Sad though it can be.  Someone needs to take a stand on related issues and Giordano stepped out on a limb to do so.

Gucci Dark Romance 250 Audacious Color Intense Lipstick Review and Swatches

A little splotchy…especially as it wears…I like the Moisture Rich Gucci formula better so far.  Lovely color…