I was so excited for my Sephora to finally get the “Glow For It” set back in stock! The website had been out of stock ever since I remember discovering it existed, (and actually, I am sad to report it’s not even online anymore) so I had naturally been obsessively checking my store everyday.  Being a self professed highlight junkie, it was pretty much the only thing I wanted in the way of gift sets this season. I already have two of the products it included, the Benefit Watt’s Up and the Milk Makeup Sunshine Oil, but none of the others. And I was specifically excited about the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter and the Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder.  I’ve had a chance to play around with the set and here are my opinions on how they all stack up.

Benefit Watt’s Up

As I stated already, I have this. In this same exact size actually, the mini trial size. I’ve had it for about a year, and though it’s not one of my go to products, It’s come in handy as a highlight for brow bone, inner corner of the eye, nose and cupids bow.  The twist up stick – cream to powder formula is easy to use and it’s really pretty. Nothing bad about it at all. I’m really glad to have another little mini, but I see no need to purchase it in a full retail size.

Milk Makeup Sunshine Oil

Again, one that I have already in a trial size.  And I like it a lot. I find it nice and hydrating with out turning my face into an oil slick.  I’ve used it under my foundation and it gives a slightly more dewy look. But I have found that I use it mostly at night as  a/under my moisturizer, and I’ve also been using it on my cuticles and hands.  My biggest complaint though is the rollerball application. It’s really not good.  It doesn’t glide against my skin smoothly or easily and I have to work at it for a while to get the product out. I feel like I’m set with the two trial sizes and once I use them up, will move on. There are other oils out there that are really very comparable and easier to apply. I won’t be purchasing this in full size.

Cover FX Custom Infusion Drops in C + Lemongrass

This is one of four formulas in the Cover FX Infusion Drops. The C + Lemongrass is the Radiance formula. It is less a product to highlight and more for use as skincare, in my opinion. It can be mixed into moisturizer and foundation, or used directly on the skin, which is how I’ve been using it. It smells pretty ok and though I’m not sure if the small size will be big enough to produce very noticeable results (this one is pretty tiny and I feel like a little does not go a very long way) but it’s probably subtly doing what it’s supposed too, or at the very least making my skin feel nice. I’m not even close to being in love with it though, and it’s kind of pricey, so I won’t buy the full size.

Lancome Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter in Glowing Lights

One of 5 different shades, the glowing lights shade is definitely not the shade I’d have chosen for myself. I’m more of a champagne/peach/gold highlight girl and this one is very pink. It’s a cream to powder formula and found that with this formula, I couldn’t get my brush to pick it up. So It’s best applied with fingers for me…. not sure about if maybe a synthetic brush would be better? Maybe. Anyway, it’s pretty and has a lot of pigment, but if you’re going to buy a highlight that you have to apply with your fingers buy one of these from ColourPOP (ColourPOP suggests fingers for application for most of their face products.) Really, for the price of this full size Lancome highlight, buy 4 of the ColourPOP singles, which as far as I can tell are a pretty similar formula, if not almost exactly the same. I’ll stick to ColourPOP.

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Liquid in Moonstone

I was certain I would love this, and I was right.  I love it. And why wouldn’t I? Becca completely kills the highlight game. Liquid illuminizers like this (or this Josie Maran one, which I already have and love) are so versatile. You can really customize the amount of glow you want – directly on the skin under your foundation, mixed with your foundation, mixed with a primer or mixed with a moisturizer. And it translates into an all over lit-from-within glow. I will be happily buying this in the full size when my sample runs out (but not until I use up the Josie Maran.)

Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Incandescent

I was the most excited for this one. I’ve often looked at the Hourglass Strobe Lighting Powder line, but wondered, is it worth the price? Have you wondered too? Because it’s not cheap. And it seems like everyone raves about these powders. While I can’t say that I disliked it completely, I also cannot say I loved it completely. And truthfully, I probably need to give it more time and trial. But I am honestly totally underwhelmed. There is no denying that it’s very pretty and does give a nice glow, but it’s very, very subtle. SUPER subtle. Maybe it could just be this color? Maybe??? This would probably work well as more of an all over powder used in a situation where too glowy could be a problem…. yeah, don’t ask me what (absurd) situation that is….. wedding photos maybe? I can safely say that I am not sad that I never bought a full size at full price. I will happily use up this mini size, but probably never buy it in full size.

There you have it. I tried them all, and they all have very different but specific uses and effects.  And while I know you can no longer get this set, I wouldn’t say you missed out – I am a little disappointed in it, if I’m being honest. But now I know! And hopefully, my trials and opinions will help you navigate your next highlight/glow/dewy skin product purchase! Let me know what you think of it if you were able to get your hands on it!

BTW, as usual I paid for this little ol’ set with my own money (and at full price too, as it was not in stock during the VIB 20% off event!)

I love a bold red lip. I love a bright pink lip.  I dabble in purples and deep berry shades.  But nudes are my jam.  And a nude color can be tricky to wear.  Truthfully I do have more than a few that I feel make me look like I’m dead.  But when you find the right one, it’s magical (ok, that sounds dramatic, but you feel me, right?) Here is a run down of my current rotation.

Jeffree Star – Celebrity Skin

We may have mentioned once or twice on the blog how much we love Jeffree Star’s Velour Liquid Lipsticks.  For good reason.  They are the best. They look great and don’t dry out our lips. In a word, they are perfection as far as matte liquid lipsticks go.  I just received Celebrity Skin a week or so ago (they had a free shipping day, I couldn’t resist) and it has fast become my top nude.  It’s a slightly peachy, brown nude that I feel could suit any skin tone at all.  And, it wears for hours.  Shout out to Mannequin for being my second favorite from the nudes in his collection.

Image from jeffreestar.com

Urban Decay – Insanity

When the new Vice collection came out I had a pretty hard time deciding which nudes I was going to pick up.  The tester display is a nude wonderland.  I settled on a few, with Insanity being my top choice.  Insanity is a cream formula, no fuss, easy wearing warm nude that has become a go to for my day to day when I have little time (and little patience for application of a liquid lip) and no available mirror.

Image from urbandecay.com

Maybelline Color Sensational – Truffle Tease

Cheap and good.  This color hails from the “buffs” collection.  It’s a cream formula and again, easy wearing. This is not as warm of a nude as some of my others, it’s more cool toned in my opinion.  A co-worker once told me it made me look very exotic, so I’ll pretty much be buying this until it gets discontinued. Wouldn’t you like to look exotic from time to time?  I thought so.

Image from walmart.com

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker lipstick – Super Nude

Soap and Glory is a brand from England, that wasn’t always so easy to find in the US.  It’s now sold at Walgreens.com, Ulta.com and Target.com – with Ulta and Walgreens having a pretty good selection of product in stores as well. I went to Walgreens to check out what they had and of course, left with a nude lipstick.  Super Nude is  their matte formula.  While I wouldn’t consider it a true matte, the formula is still nice. It’s comfortable and creamy, but not shiny.  The shade Super Nude is a nice pink nude and it smells like vanilla beans.  Next time I’m at Walgreens I’ll definitely pick up another shade.

Image from soapandglory.com

There is a very small glimpse into my nude lipstick obsession.  Do you have a nude that you absolutely love?  If so, let me know, because you know I’ll run out and buy it immediately (with my own cash money, of course…. as we do all for the products we talk about on the blog.)

When Pamela, Jess and I decided to start E&N—we were looking for an outlet—a place to open our private conversations to an expanded circle. We felt like we were missing a space to share things like how the right snack that can turn a day around, or the strangeness of watching yourself age, or the magic of a highlighter or the challenges of getting motivated to work out. There are plenty of beauty/lifestyle blogs, YouTubers, magazines that cover these subjects, but something unsatisfying about only getting the perspective from someone living in Los Angeles spending $3,000 on the perfect winter coat for California temperatures or a 24 year-old Londoner ‘s thoughts  an anti-aging cream.

Now let’s be clear—we want those stories, too. We are not immune to the fantasy of Carrie Bradshaw or Anna Wintour or Teni Penosian or Hello October. But we just wanted to have an opportunity to talk to others who live in places that get legit freezing for five months out of year and understand the panic of seeing lines on your face and knowing they are here to stay.

And we like talking to other women. We’ve been told we have some male friends who check out our blog—and that’s awesome!—but we really write it for each other. We want to hear what you have found that works and look for solutions for those things that keep nagging at us. We feel one of the greatest successes in our lives is our relationships with our friends. Few things are as energizing as sharing a project with a girlfriend who wants to see it succeed even more than you do, or as affirming as an enthusiastic snap back when you’re feeling yourself on the outfit, or as comforting as the magical hug from someone who knows pain like you do and will reopen their own hurt to take on yours.

Pamela, Jess and I have a lot of things in common. We are all self-employed. There is a constant, low level anxiety you feel when you know that your income is based solely on your skill and hustle. Our source of motivation is a continual risk/reward situation.

We have all crossed over to the dreaded 40s—and not only lived to tell—but found it much easier than we expected and way less terrifying than our transition to our 30s. We’ve learned a little bit. Care a little less. Love a little more. Seen too much. Know what we don’t know. And lean hard on people who won’t let us fall. And there’s power in those experiences and strength in that trust.

None of us have children. Pamela is a stepmom and knows the love and challenges that come with it. But none of us have had children on our own. We don’t want to minimize this point—it can be an obstacle in maintaining friendships—and not necessarily in ways you might think. We know we have more time to commit to researching the perfect concealer, money to spend on a pair of cool kicks and haven’t ceded control of the radio to the humans in the backseat. And we love our role as a trusted resource on all things trivial—just as much as we love seeing our mom friends killing it every day raising the coolest kids on the planet—as well as their evolution as they transition from who we knew before to the person we know today. And we love both versions.

And as similar as we are—we also love surrounding ourselves with people who aren’t exactly like us. We are friends with people who get lost in some of our references—because they’ve never seen the Cosby Show, were adults who knew better than to pay attention to Was Not Was, grew up in places that didn’t contend with oppressive winters or have beauty and hair care issues that are different than our own. Getting different perspectives and ideas are what the blog is all about.

In the end—we wanted to write this blog for our friends. Ladies trying our best to get it done.  All of it. Work, family, friendship, health—often in that order—and still attempting to let our style shine. Maybe through a new eye shadow look, or by cutting bangs, or giving a jumpsuit a try, or a wearing a pretty bralette only we will see. Because we do it for ourselves. Because we want to.  And we want people in our lives who understand that being a woman is about balancing the everything and the nothing. And sometimes it’s the nothings that give us the most joy and the everythings that we have to take a break from.

So yeah—as three women who support other women—we feel all the emotions today. We wanted to see a woman become President. We wanted that validation and to feel like we really CAN do anything. And watching Hillary lose last night felt very much like a referendum on women. And we lost. But was it? Is today different than yesterday? It certainly feels harder being a woman this morning than it did yesterday. Rationally—we know that even if she won—the things that came out in the election weren’t going away. Just like the country isn’t less racist because we elected our first POC as POTUS. But it hurts. It’s confusing. Women voted for Trump and surely, they can’t be against women, in general. Perhaps it really was just THIS woman they didn’t get or didn’t agree with or didn’t like. But it’s hard to look at it that way. At least today.

It felt like our time. A collective chance to celebrate women. But it didn’t happen. So how do we move forward? Well, doing what we’ve always done— getting back up after experiencing pain, taking time to heal and reflect, finding our network that encourages us when we need it, maintaining our hustle because we have no option not to, listening to people who aren’t exactly like us, learning from each other and giving hugs—lots and lots of hugs. And also wearing our bold lipstick—or not—because WE chose to be the women we want to be. And today, we chose to be proud women who are feeling it all, and are doing it together.

Finally last week, our coveted 20% off VIB sale coupons came in the mail! The annual sale starts on Friday, which means we only have a few days to plan our attack…

Jess:

I usually split my wish list into two categories: boring things that I need to stock up on (BB cream, hair stuff) and things I have been wanting to try and/or are too shiny/cute to pass up. I love that this sale happens conveniently (by design, I’m sure) before the holidays, right as all of the gift sets, holiday palettes, and new discovery sets have been released. Let’s take a little daydream and see what’s in my basket, shall we?

We all love love love “discovery sets” that let you sample a few skincare items that may be cost prohibitive in their full sized versions (but you need more than a tiny sample to see if you like it), and Sephora also does a great job putting together packages of “favorites”, so there are all kinds of ways to explore new skincare this time of year. I recently got a deluxe sample of some Peter Thomas Roth facial cleanser, and was really impressed! I’ve heard great things about his masks, and have been eyeing up the 24K gold products, because who doesn’t want to put gold on their face?? But they are a bit on the pricey side. Imagine my delight when I stumbled across this Peter Thomas Roth Black and Gold Kit ($65) that includes a few decent sized items that look like will make me a poreless, glowing, living Snapchat filter. IN IN IN.

I am an absolute sucker for adorable, tiny lipsticks. Look how cute these little Marc Jacobs lipsticks are!! And all tucked in a little metallic hot pink case?? I die. It might seem slightly steep at $49 for five babies, but one full sized Le Marc Lip Creme retails for $30. ONE. These colors all look wearable and great, and the formula (long wearing but creamy) looks like something I’d be into. I’m resisting the urge to spring for this Kat Von D Everlasting Mini Liquid Lipstick set- the colors look like so much fun, and the little tubes are SO CUTE!! But I know this formula will break my heart (and shatter my lips into a thousand dry shards). DO NOT LET ME FALL FOR IT’S CHARMS.

Pamela:

There are things that I will always wait to buy during the 20% holiday event.  Like expensive, high end mascara.  I usually get the Dior Iconic Overcurl mascara, but this year I might go for the Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir. I think both are great.  It’ll be a game time decision.

It seems like everytime I go to Las Vegas I purchase a perfume.  And while I did not make any fragrance purchases this time, I did get a sample of the Maison Margiela ‘REPLICA’ Lipstick On, and had a couple of days to test drive it.  It’s not scent I would normally gravitate toward, it’s a little out of my zone of things I like to smell or smell like.  But something about it works for me. I am also going to pick up the Discovery Set for Him for my husband (but I’ll probably wear them too.)

I also want a new face mist.  Want, not need.  It’s going to be a toss up between this Josie Maran one and this Herbivore one.

Sephora kills it with the “Sephora Favorites” gift sets – specifically curated multi brand sets with larger than just sample size, sizes. Unfortunately the one I want seems to be already out of stock.  I’m hoping it, the Glow For It set, gets restocked before the weekend. Truthfully, I’ll buy it without the 20% if it gets restocked afterward.  I REALLY want it! These sets also make great Christmas gifts, so I will be checking my list twice.

Lyn:

Sooo…I have a problem…and as a result…I already had my 20% Sephora sale. Ugh. It’s actually embarrassing how much money I have spent at Sephora this year. (okay, every year, but who’s counting?) Here are the highlights of what is getting thrown on a delivery truck and heading my way as we speak:

Like Jess and Pamela, I also like to mix repurchasing high end items with trying shiny new things and this Sol de Janeiro gift pack accomplished both! I already love the Bum Bum Cream–which is stupid expensive–and I’ve already repurchased it twice. It’s super thick and hydrating–and it lifts. I swear it really does! The Brazilian Body Boom pack contains the magic lotion AND the Brazilian 4 Play Moisturizing Shower Cream-Gel which I haven’t tried yet–but have heard good things. So this baby is coming my way.

I have had really good luck in the past with the Algenist Genius products I’ve tried. TBH–I’m not sure why I moved away from them. I’ve tried the C+ Serum and the Melting Cleanser and liked them both lots. Now with Pamela’s recommendation on the eye cream–I’ve decided to give the whole line a go–and this special collection at a special price makes that possible.

I’m also a sucker for the Sephora Favorites–and for good reason!–they are a great way to try high end products at a much more tolerable price. Plus 20% off!! This year, I snagged the Skin Wonderland–mostly because it had a travel size of the SK-II Facial Essence that I’m crazy for–and the Give Me Some Bold Lip set. Bold lips are ALWAYS my thing–but something I’ve been especially into this fall. And I’ve checked out this collection at the store–and it’s not only packed with amazing colors–you get really deluxe sized samples, including one full sized lipstick–for less than the price of one ridiculously high priced tube by Marc Jacobs. So it’s definitely a great buy for anyone who wants to experiment with a port-stained pout.

And I bought a ridiculously high priced tube from Marc Jacobs Beauty. Because I have a problem.

We know a lot of you are also Sephora VIB’s with 20% off coupons.  What’s on your list? What do you always stock up on? What new things are you going to try? Tell us!