Quick Taste Test & Value Sets

I went back and reapplied the Make Up For Ever lipstick. It was the lipstick. It tastes horrible. I mean bad... it reminded me of what true lipstick use to taste like 20 years ago, when I used to play with my moms. Not that she wore much or had the money for the expensive stuff but I did play with what she had... and I had my own play ones too. The fact that MUFE tastes like play lipstick and 20 year old lip lacquer is a travesty. It tastes bad, but the color is so good. The one thing that I'm worried about is that I've been sick so I don't want to go on my tastes buds, even my dinner tasted bad last night. So it may just be me. Especially, since its such a reputable company, its hard to believe that their lip products would taste so badly. Since Im a little off due to allergies and an impending cold we'll put off tasting until later but so far MUFE products taste bad, to me. We

We'll get into Value Sets today and Travel Size singulars tomorrow, until my senses have recovered from spring allergies. This is something I've been looking into for the last week and really want to discuss. They are so cute, come in sets with all different companies combined, and sets from one company. They run anywhere from $20 - $60. The in between ones seem to be the best. The best sets all have travel size or even smaller mini sized items. At the mini level each would last between a month and 1/2 to a few months and at the travel size level the products would last 2 months to 8 months depending on how often you use those particular products. That's pretty good. I've been doing the math on value sets that particularly interested me, Benefit and store favorite packs, and each item runs between $4.50 and $14. That's kind of great. You get a few months of the product the ability to try it without having to buy the full size item. If you bought all of those full size items they'd last you but you'd end up spending $100, $200, or more depending. If you don't like them you just threw a good chunk of money down the drain. I went through Sephora's website, Value Sets, and filtered items from low to high. We'll be discussing the ones I thought gave you the best bang for your buck, the bad  or just not great (bad in Fuchsia), and the ones included really popular items. Value Sets are great when you are just want to try the item, don't know if it's something you'll like, your on a budget and want high end stuff, or you just don't wear make-up that often.

Color Guide:
Black - popular and good value
Blue- Great Value
Fuchsia- not great at all but worth mentioning for full information
Red- Full sized and good value if you know you like the items

Too Faced:

Better Than Sex Amazing Eye Set
Includes: travel size mascara and full size eye liner pencil
Price: $12.00 or $6/item

Sexy Lips & Lashes
Includes: Travel size lip plumping gloss and volume-enhancing mascara
Price: $15 or $7.50/item
Full Price & Diff.: $51.00 -$15= $36.00
Note: You can pay $5 more for 2 more products and get a BUXOM lip plumper (travel size) they are better at plumping anyway and come with a beautiful tint of choice.

Beauty Blogger Darlings
Includes: Bronzer in Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, Primed & Poreless Face Primer, Better Than Sex Mascara, Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer
Price: $20 or $5/item
Full Size Price & Difference: $103.00 - $20 = $83d.

The Mascara & Bronzing Holy Grail
Includes: Bronzer in Chocolate Soleil Bronzer and Better Than Sex Mascara
Price: $23.00 or $11.50/item
Full Price & Difference: $58.00 - $23= $35
Note: The mascara is .10 ounces larger than the Beauty Blogger set but you get 2 extra products for -$3

Benefit Value Sets:

Goodtime Gals
Includes: "That Gal” primer, poppy-pink lip and cheek stain Posietint, and luminizing Girl Meets Pearl (travel size) 
Price: $15.00 or $5.00/item
Full Price & Difference: $69.00 - $15.00= $54.00
Note: This is a great deal! The Posietint is two products in one, so it really is more like $3.75/item.

You Go Gals!
Includes: The POREfessional primer, "That Gal" primer, and Girl Meets Pearl
Price: $18.00
Full Price & Difference: $80.00 - $18= $62
Note:  The POREfessional mini is $10 on it's own so this is a really great deal. I might go with the Goodtime Gals set because "That Gal" is a brightening primer. You get 2 primers in this set, yes, different functions but primers all the same. Either one is an amazing deal.

Beauty Score! (very, very mini products good for someone looking to test)
Includes: Hoola bronzing powder, Bella Bamba blush, The POREfessional pore minimizer, “That Gal” brightening face primer, It's Potent! eye cream, They’re Real mascara, Ooh La Lift under-eye brightener, Stay Don’t Stray in Light/Medium primer for concealers and eyeshadows, Benetint lip and cheek stain, High Beam complexion enhancer
Price: $36.00 or $3.60/item
Full Price & Difference: $223 - $36= $187
Note: It says the value is $88 on Sephora.com, my full price refers to buying every full size item included in the set. The mini POREfessional or They're Real are $10 each, alone, these are more mini but it give you an idea.

Benefit Box Sets: All the Box Sets by Benefit include guides and a mirror. They are all great sets to pop into your purse or desk for an on-the-go any time touch up.

Go TropiCORAL

Feelin' Dandy Lip & Cheek Kit
Includes: Posetint, Dandelion, High Beam, Ultra Plush Dandelion, Mini powder brushPrice: $28.00 or $7/item not including the brush
Full Price & Difference: $100.00 - $28.00= $72.00
Note: The products are smaller than they look in the pictures but they will last you at least a month if your using them on an everyday basis and multiple times a day (for touch ups).

Go TropiCORAL Lip & Cheek Kit
Includes: Chachatint, Coralista, High Beam, Ultra Plush Coralista, Mini powder brushPrice: $28.00 or $7/item n/incl. brush
Full Price & Difference: $100 - $28= $72.00
Note: Everything really is coral. So make sure you like coral on yourself before getting this set. One of my personal faves.

Sugarlicious Lip & Cheek Kit
Includes: Benetint, Sugarbomb, High Beam, Ultra Plush Sugarbomb, Mini powder brush
Price: $28.00 or $7/item n/incl. brush
Full Price & Difference: $100 - $28= $72.00
Note: Probably the most diverse in shade range. Very nice set.

Do the Bright Thing
Includes: "that gal" Brightening Face Primer, High Beam Luminescent Complexion Enhancer , Dandelion Brightening Face Powder, Powder Brush, They're Real! Beyond Mascara in Black, Bad Gal Liner Waterproof Eye Pencil in Extra Black
Price: $32.00 or $6.40/item n/incl. brush
Full Price & Difference: $126 - $32= $94.00
Note: The smaller boxes are great deals but these little larger ones have 2 extra items, the guide, box, and mirror for $4.00 extra.

Larger box set. Do The Bright Thing

BUXOM: Value Sets:

Passport Collection- The Day Tripper
Includes: Color Choreography Eyeshadow in Point (charcoal), Whirl (pale gold), Freestyle (peacock blue), Mini Lash Mascara in Blackest Black, True Hue Blush in Luvitate, Mini Hot Escapes Bronzer in Tahiti, Mini Lip Cream in Cherry Flip, 2 x Brushes, Portable zippered pouch with mirror 
Price: $39.00 or $4.33/item
Full Price & Difference: $170 - $39= $131.00
Note: The website lists a $79.00 value but it would cost $170 to buy each of these full-size items. Great set!

Lips So Luxe (all full-sized)
Includes: Full-On™ Lip Cream in Creamsicle, Full-On Lip Tarnish in Wardrobe Malfunction, Full-Bodied™ Lip Gloss in Boo-Ya
Price: $34.00 or $14/item
Full Price & Difference: $57.00 - $34= $23.00
Note: Really great deal if you know you like these. I happen to love Creamsicle!

More full sized sets to come...