Happy Birthday to Me | NARS Lip Pencils from Sephora

My birthday is in December– quite frankly, I can’t believe that I’m 38. That just sounds older than I feel. Not that I’m obsessing about it at all, but some nice presents surely make it better!  I do love shopping at Nordstrom, but when it comes to cosmetics, I’m starting to become a Sephora convert.  They have a similar generous return policy, and they have a beauty insiders club that lets you earn points for really nice rewards– smaller sizes of some of their best products– things I actually want!  But best of all are the annual birthday gifts.  I discovered several of the products that I now love and faithfully buy that way– Watts Up highlighter by Benefit and Sugar Fresh lip balm are probably my favorite birthday gifts.  Until this year.

I’m a huge fan of NARS cosmetics– they are highly pigmented and deliver deep, lasting color.  The velvet matte pencil in Cruella is the red lip color I’ve been looking for– a bold red with just enough depth so that it’s not obnoxiously bright.  The satin lip pencil in Rikugien is more of a neutral, glossy color that’s a great everyday staple.  Two new lip colors– a perfect red and a glossy neutral– make me a pretty happy birthday girl.  Happy birthday to me indeed!

*This is the 2015 birthday gift– even though I was celebrating my 2014 birthday, it was January before I made it in to Sephora. Having noticed my love for NARS, the sales associate let me choose, and of course I went home with this one!