Amalfi Dozing in the Sun on a Train but Not Quite Dreaming

After Christmas, Sephora has a GIANT sale which is temping and generally evil. I bought a couple items; the Ojon "The White Ball" which was made exclusively for Sephora, $30 marked down from $65 (I use "The Ball" which is brown, smells like chocolate and exfoliates like a mother. I like them both but I think they're a bit ridiculous at $65 and just over the got-a-deal side of reasonable at $30), and the "Amalfi Dream" collection from Vincent Longo for I believe about $30 marked down from whatever, something I wouldn't have considered previously. I am a sucker for Italy-themed items, so my brain got all pingy about "Ooh, the Amalfi Coast!" and eventually this overrode my questions about whether these colors would right for me.
Ultimately, it was a little of both. The eyeshadows and lip gloss were great colors for me, but the liner and lipstick are a little cool for my skin tone. The big revelation was the texture of the products. Vincent Longo is one of those crazy enterpreneur types who was working photoshoots and fashion shows and getting all creative with mixing up his own goops in the back room, and he finally developed it into his own makeup line. The result is generally excellent.

I cobbled together some bigger pictures, because the one above is kind of teensy. In the Amalfi Dream collection, I got (clockwise from upper left): an Eye Shimmer Souffle in Lily Mist, a Velvet Riche Lipstick in Sexy Lady, a sample size of The Curl mascara, an eyeshadow trio in Orbit Dusk, a Perfect Shine Lip Gloss in Amalfi Dream and (not pictured) a Duo Eye Pencil in Soft Pink/Passion. The quality of all of these is excellent; they all stay put and last well. Here's a blow-by-blow.

• The Eye Shimmer Souffle in Lily Mist has great color, but is the only product I have some trouble wrangling. You have to kind of stick your finger in the little pot and mush it around on your eyelid, which makes it a little hard to apply with precision. It's very shimmery but if you use too much, it takes on that Too Much Shimmer = Greasy effect. I have tried applying it with a brush and with a Q-Tip as well, but it tends to want to stay on the brush or Q-Tip. Sponges might be the answer, but I haven't tried them yet. In any case, the color as I said before is stunning, a really nice light springy pink with nice shimmer.
  
• The Velvet Riche Lipstick had really fantastic texture. It's super creamy and actually moisturizes (unlike those junky lipsticks from the CVS that claim to do so). The problem I have is that it's just the wrong color for me. Sexy Lady is a cool, almost mauvey color, and it makes me look like an elderly person who just came out of cold water. Not good for me. BUT! I would totally by this lipstick, just in another color.
  
• The Curl mascara was the biggest revelation for me of this collection. I am generally sceptical of claims that a product that's not an eyelash curler will curl my eyelashes, particularly when it's followed by a discussion of how said product is all natural and does this magic through oils and plants and shit. However, this...actually did. The brush is very fine and separates your lashes really well for even application. I can't believe it, but it does also curl your lashes. I have since bought a tube of it. It's not waterproof, but it stays put, so unless you're planning to swim in it, you'll probably be okay.
  
• Orbit Dusk is a combo of a metallic violet color, a nice strong bronze and a shimmery pale gold. The three colors can be made to work for pretty much any time of day, though as always with darker purples, you need to use sparingly for daytime wear. Very pretty pallette and the powder stays put and doesn't crease.
• The Amalfi Dream lip gloss has a soft golden tone to it. There's some more of the cool tone of the lipstick, but it's so slight here that the overall effect is warm and shimmery. The gloss wears really well and does not have that goopy lip gloss feel, which is MUCH appreciated. Feels more like a chapstick.