End of Summer 2013 - Beauty Haul

I haven't been hauling as much as I used to now. Trying to have some more self control on spending and not splurge just because it's a good deal or there's a gift with purchase. You will notice that this haul post is filled with products that are new on the market and intrigued me enough to buy.

Shiseido Benefique Haul

Shiseido has a new line of skincare, Benefique. This line launched in US earlier in the year and is only available at Shiseido boutiques (no department store counters). Don't confused this with the other Shiseido line Ibuki that also just launched this year which IS available at department store counters and Sephora. I bought the Benefique NT Emulsion II (150mL) which is a lotion for dry/combination skin types for $45. Review coming soon!

OOTD: Summer Neutrals with a Splash of Brights

A little late post for summer outfits, but here's a "latergram" of one of my favorite work outfits for summer time.  If you've read my "About Me", you know how much I love the color white and there's no better time to wear white than during the sunny weather.

Work OOTD of Summer Neutrals and Bright Accents

On Me:

Reveal: Le Metier de Beaute Beauty Vault VIP September Box

After last month's super value beauty box, I couldn't help but do a mini countdown to see what awaits in the September box. And this month's box did not disappoint either. It arrived promptly at my doorsteps within the first week of September and that's only because we have Labor Day early this year.

The September box came in the same luxurious black gift box with a handwritten note from the cofounder. =)  I like how personal these packages are.  And I can foresee myself building a collection of these gift boxes! 

Le Metier de Beaute September Box - <3 Your Eyes

And what's in the box? Here's the reveal ::drumrolls::

Swatches: Etude House Juicy Cocktail Gradation Nails in #5 Princess Marry

Long time no swatch! I posted this a few weeks ago on my Instagram (follow @melliescloset if you want to see more daily updates from me) and figure I should show some detail pictures here. I bought this Etude House Juicy Cocktail Gradation Nails set in #5 Princess Marry in my cosme-de haul. For some reason, some of my searches on the great WWW has the set as known as Princess Merry Gold.

Etude House Juicy Cocktail Gradation Nails in Princess Marry

The Etude House Juicy Cocktail Gradation Nails set came with 3 mini nail polishes. Retails about $10. These sets are specially paired together to create an easy gradient nail effect, probably the easiest way to be achieve "nail art" nowadays. The back of the package has a few steps to show you how to get the look, it's quite simple. First step is to use the color #1 (yes each polish is labeled with a number) over the entire nail, step 2 is to apply color #2 from the middle of the nail to the tip, and last is to have color #3 on the the tip of your nail.

True color in indoor lighting

Under sunlight (notice the shimmers)

Princess Marry is a nude/gold set. The base color (color #1) is a sheer nude with micro fine multicolor shimmers. Color #2 is a clear nail polish with gold glitters in different sizes and Color #3 is a clear nail polish with chunky glitter in a uniform size.

Side by Side with Butter London's Tart With a Heart

 Color #2 is a good dupe to the Butter London's Tart With A Heart. Both sport the same glitter with larger random sized glitter spheres. All the glitter sparkle in multicolors with the BL one in a broader, more colorful spectrum. The Color #2 in the Princess Marry set has a more golden base compared to BL.

Natural light

With camera flash

Here's the swatch of the nail polish set with the gradient effect. Personally I love the way the nails look, it's a little more fun yet conservative at the same time. Perfect to wear to work without being too self conscious with people looking at your nails. I would definitely wear a top coat over it, not that the nail polish needs anymore protection or shine, but to smooth out the the roughness of the different texture of glitter that you just layered on your nails. (I'm never going to wear any of those texture nail polishes that are so popular recently. I wouldn't be able to stop myself from constantly touching the roughness of an unsmooth nail.)

With a top coat, this lasted over a week for me! Even better is that because of the uneven look of gradient glitter, you don't have to worry about chipped nails. Personally, I can barely notice a chip on myself with this set on, and chipped nail polish has always been a personal pet peeve. A personal anecdote, I have a little OCD on my nails, they always have to be immaculate and perfect. Cuticles can't stick out and there can't be any dirt in my nails. Haha, I'm so particular with my nails, that I clean my bf's too. =P

I'm very interested in trying the other colors now. But looking at the other Etude House colors in this collection, I don't think they'll work that well at the workplace. I know Jen FrmHeadToToe did a Mani Monday post on the peachy orange set and it was really pretty.

Because this lasted so long on me, this was what I wore on a recent Disney vacation. I'll be doing a post on what I've worn and brought with me on travel soon. Stay tuned.

Dior Diva 250 Point Reward - Aug 2013

I recently mailed in my receipts for the Dior Diva program. For those of you that don't know, if you purchase a certain limit of Dior products from specific department stores & Sephora, you can free goodies from the brand directly. If you're interested to see what I've received in the past, you can check out my posts here and here.

Dior Diva 250 Point Reward