This box was a delight for the eyes. There were so many cute little packages and so many great colors. One of them was purple and I had no idea what it would do. When I found out, I was quite delighted. This happened to be the BECCA First Light Filter Face Primer. An oz of this will cost you 38$.
One of the unique features of this primer is the fact that the violet tint allows it to work with any skin tone. It goes on purplish but as it bonds with your skin, it becomes sheer. My roommate said he could still see it on my skin. Perhaps it takes a bit longer? Anyway, what I liked about it was its ability to color correct the brownness that happens around my eyes. The ginger and citrus in it give it a very fresh scent and I enjoyed that quite a lot.
Would I buy it? As just a primer, no. But as a color corrector, I think I would.
The biggest surprise in the box was the perfume sample. When I pulled it out, I didn't have high hopes. After all, CHANEL GABRIELLE CHANEL Eau de Parfum just didn't seem like something that would work on me. I'm just not the 105$ for 1.7 oz kind of person. I don't want to smell like some rich lady. especially not Coco Chanel.
I was so wrong. This perfume is wonderful. It's light and delicate, which actually works well with my body chemistry. It also lasts a very long time. I find it delightful. It has notes of jasmine, orange blossom, grasse tuberose, and ylang-ylang. Ylang-ylang is very fun to say, by the way. All of it works together to create this very smooth, flowing, clean, inviting scent that I absolutely love. It doesn't make you smell like some old rich lady. It makes you smell like her garden. And who wouldn't want that?
Even still, that is a lot of money to pay for a scent. However, in this case, it would probably be worth it.
So that ends my October box. It is bringing me a lot of happiness.
Showing posts with label Sephora. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sephora. Show all posts
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
October Box Foundations
I think one of the reasons I've been so excited and happy about this month's box has to do with all the new types of products that arrived. I've not really gotten any foundation from my boxes. Lots of lipsticks and lotions, but no foundations or powder. This has been a little surprising and I have to say, I was really happy to get them.
The foundation I received was MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation in Ivory. This is six shades from their lightest shade, Alabaster. Was I going to get more of this, I would probably opt for that. Then again, maybe not because this did match my skin tone really well. It's 43$ for 1.01 oz.
This is another one of those products developed for people who will be seen in high definition conditions. Because of that, it's formulated to be really light. I'm actually shocked at how light this is. I have some BB cream that I use most of the time and this is even lighter than that is. It doesn't look like you have makeup on. Rather, you just look like you have really great, even skin. Needless to say, this is a glorious product.
LAURA MERCIER Translucent Loose Setting Powder is the powder in the box and you can buy this for 38$ for 1 oz. I have a lot of issues with powder because it's one of the things that set off my sinuses. I have to be careful about using it near my eyes. I also have an issue with it making me look darker than I want to, even if it's supposed to be the lightest shade. Because of that, I most often have to mix it with baby powder, which is actually worse on my sinuses.
With that in mind, I was marginally hopeful this expensive fancy powder would be better. It is. It's great! I didn't sneeze or eye water or anything with it. Given that I'm still recovering from being sick, that's kind of amazing. The powder is matte, and as much as I don't like that with lip coverage, it is something I want with my powders.
If I were in a position to where I needed to look professionally made up for long hours at a time, these would be two products I would certainly purchase. One of the problems I've always had with foundation is that it felt thick on my skin. This would cause me to start scratching at it and that isn't a cute look for makeup. Something as light as the Makeup Forever product doesn't cause me that problem. I could wear it all day and not even really notice it was on me. The powder is so easy to handle and doesn't cake up. I love that. I'm quite happy with these two samples.
The foundation I received was MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation in Ivory. This is six shades from their lightest shade, Alabaster. Was I going to get more of this, I would probably opt for that. Then again, maybe not because this did match my skin tone really well. It's 43$ for 1.01 oz.
This is another one of those products developed for people who will be seen in high definition conditions. Because of that, it's formulated to be really light. I'm actually shocked at how light this is. I have some BB cream that I use most of the time and this is even lighter than that is. It doesn't look like you have makeup on. Rather, you just look like you have really great, even skin. Needless to say, this is a glorious product.
LAURA MERCIER Translucent Loose Setting Powder is the powder in the box and you can buy this for 38$ for 1 oz. I have a lot of issues with powder because it's one of the things that set off my sinuses. I have to be careful about using it near my eyes. I also have an issue with it making me look darker than I want to, even if it's supposed to be the lightest shade. Because of that, I most often have to mix it with baby powder, which is actually worse on my sinuses.
With that in mind, I was marginally hopeful this expensive fancy powder would be better. It is. It's great! I didn't sneeze or eye water or anything with it. Given that I'm still recovering from being sick, that's kind of amazing. The powder is matte, and as much as I don't like that with lip coverage, it is something I want with my powders.
If I were in a position to where I needed to look professionally made up for long hours at a time, these would be two products I would certainly purchase. One of the problems I've always had with foundation is that it felt thick on my skin. This would cause me to start scratching at it and that isn't a cute look for makeup. Something as light as the Makeup Forever product doesn't cause me that problem. I could wear it all day and not even really notice it was on me. The powder is so easy to handle and doesn't cake up. I love that. I'm quite happy with these two samples.
Monday, October 16, 2017
October Box: Droppers
Even though I wasn't that pleased with last month's box and too depressed/sick to even really talk about it, all of that has changed with this month's box. I got it a day early and love absolutely everything in it. All of it was for the face this month and, as my roommate commented, a lot of it came in neat packages. I also got some things in forms I've not really dealt with where makeup is concerned. For instance, I have two products that came with droppers. I'll be talking about those tonight.
The first product is COVER FX Custom Enhancer Drops and it's 42$ for 0.5 oz. I have to confess, I wasn't even sure what this was at first. It was this cute little shimmery bottle with a dropper. I opened it up and there was shimmery liquid inside. Come to find out, this is an intense highlighter. Now mind you, that is only because the shade I was sent was one of the highlights. My shade was Moonlight, which gives you a kind of silvery glow.
This stuff is amazing, potent, and addictive. For one thing, it isn't like any other makeup I've ever used. My other highlighters were sticks and I just didn't find them all that exciting. THIS product is exciting. It really is much more like a paint. You have to be very careful with it because just the smallest drop can make a massive difference. That's also the problem. As much as I wanted to be prudent with it, I also did not want to. Highlighting with this stuff is fun and SO effective. It made me look like I had the BEST eyelids and gave me that little perfect spot on the tip of my nose. And what it did to my lower lip is almost sinful. I love this stuff so much and I will be so sad when it's gone. Maybe while it lasts, I can learn to use it without ending up looking like the Tin Man.
My next sample with a dropper was the MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Skin Booster. If you want to purchase this, 0.4 oz will cost you 41$. Now if I'm not mistaken, this is the first serum I've been sent. Now backs ins my days, serums weren't (as I remember) really a thing. This is a newer concept in makeup, this idea of putting something on your skin that is as light and as thin as water. As our cameras have gotten better, and as more and more things are shown in HD, thick makeup has become an issue. We need to be able to layer things in people's faces without making it look bulky.
Actually, this product was specifically designed with HD (and higher) images in mind. Makeup artists (and regular folk) want to be able to have a lot of impact from their skin without tons of stuff on it. It certainly does that. It goes on like water and once you rub it in, it begins to plump your skin up and give it more life. I noticed the biggest difference around my eyes and the folds of my nose. These are challenging spots for many people and something like this can really make a difference.
Now in both cases, this is expensive stuff. You're paying over 40 dollars for less than an ounce in both cases. Is it worth it? I would honestly say yes, in both cases, but with this caveat: if you buy these products, you have to use restraint with them. This isn't old school makeup where you slather it on until you look better. They come with droppers for a reason. They should be applied one drop at a time and then consideration should be given before another drop is added.
That kind of consideration isn't something I'm used to where makeup is concerned, and I have to admit I kind of like the idea. For me, this is a new approach. It isn't just about doing the usual stuff and then only giving thought to how leaky my eyes may be. Thinking about makeup in terms of one drop at a time adds a new element to it. I'm looking forward to seeinghow much I screw this up how well I can learn.
The first product is COVER FX Custom Enhancer Drops and it's 42$ for 0.5 oz. I have to confess, I wasn't even sure what this was at first. It was this cute little shimmery bottle with a dropper. I opened it up and there was shimmery liquid inside. Come to find out, this is an intense highlighter. Now mind you, that is only because the shade I was sent was one of the highlights. My shade was Moonlight, which gives you a kind of silvery glow.
This stuff is amazing, potent, and addictive. For one thing, it isn't like any other makeup I've ever used. My other highlighters were sticks and I just didn't find them all that exciting. THIS product is exciting. It really is much more like a paint. You have to be very careful with it because just the smallest drop can make a massive difference. That's also the problem. As much as I wanted to be prudent with it, I also did not want to. Highlighting with this stuff is fun and SO effective. It made me look like I had the BEST eyelids and gave me that little perfect spot on the tip of my nose. And what it did to my lower lip is almost sinful. I love this stuff so much and I will be so sad when it's gone. Maybe while it lasts, I can learn to use it without ending up looking like the Tin Man.
My next sample with a dropper was the MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Skin Booster. If you want to purchase this, 0.4 oz will cost you 41$. Now if I'm not mistaken, this is the first serum I've been sent. Now backs ins my days, serums weren't (as I remember) really a thing. This is a newer concept in makeup, this idea of putting something on your skin that is as light and as thin as water. As our cameras have gotten better, and as more and more things are shown in HD, thick makeup has become an issue. We need to be able to layer things in people's faces without making it look bulky.
Actually, this product was specifically designed with HD (and higher) images in mind. Makeup artists (and regular folk) want to be able to have a lot of impact from their skin without tons of stuff on it. It certainly does that. It goes on like water and once you rub it in, it begins to plump your skin up and give it more life. I noticed the biggest difference around my eyes and the folds of my nose. These are challenging spots for many people and something like this can really make a difference.
Now in both cases, this is expensive stuff. You're paying over 40 dollars for less than an ounce in both cases. Is it worth it? I would honestly say yes, in both cases, but with this caveat: if you buy these products, you have to use restraint with them. This isn't old school makeup where you slather it on until you look better. They come with droppers for a reason. They should be applied one drop at a time and then consideration should be given before another drop is added.
That kind of consideration isn't something I'm used to where makeup is concerned, and I have to admit I kind of like the idea. For me, this is a new approach. It isn't just about doing the usual stuff and then only giving thought to how leaky my eyes may be. Thinking about makeup in terms of one drop at a time adds a new element to it. I'm looking forward to seeing
Saturday, August 19, 2017
August Box Blender and Scent
My last offerings from the August box are by famous names. One, Kat Von D, we've discussed before. The other is beautyblender, a tool product that many people swear by.
My beautyblender beautyblender® micro.mini is the first tool I've received in my box. I was pretty thrilled when I got it because it's tiny and adorable. The full purchase price is 18$ for a set of two. I've used blenders before, but they were full-sized and knockoffs. Working with sponges while doing makeup is tricky at first. It's certainly something that requires practice. If you learn to work them well, it can do amazing things for anyone who hates the feel of having makeup on because sponges can put it on so light it feels like nothing.
My microblender did its job. It's less porous than my knockoffs and handles water/creams better. They don't do a bad job, but the beautyblender is certainly a better texture for application. Having said that, I don't think I would bother to pay full price. The knockoffs do well enough and eventually, they're going to all fall apart. You have to keep in mind that while this is a tool you can use quite a few times, you're still going to be tossing it in the trash after a while. And as the microblender is a little tough to clean, I'm betting I'll be tossing it away sooner than later.
The scent this month was a double scent. Kat Von D's Sinner and Saint perfumes. Separately, they run 65$ for 1.6 oz. Apparently, she stopped making these for a while and just started production again. I liked Saint more than Sinner because it's lighter and floral, but even it was too heavy of a scent for me to be totally in love with it. Had it just been the vanilla and jasmine, I would have been fine, but she also adds notes of mandarin, caramel, Mirabelle plum, sandalwood, and creamy musk. It's just A LOT. She said she created it a scent that reminded her of falling in love for the first time....and....well, as I said. It's A LOT.
Sinner seemed out of place as a summer scent. It has the jasmine, mandarin, vanilla, and plum in common with Saint, but adds orange blossom, but adds cinnamon, vetiver, patchouli, and wood. Which . . . patchouli . . . though I do admit she masks the patchouli well. Then again, with all this other stuff in there, how could she not? She said this was her more edgy side, which, yes, I get, but it's still A LOT. The problem with scents this complicated is that nothing really stands out. On some people that may work, but on me, it just comes off as someone spraying jasmine Fabreeze in the room where people had an orgy.
Over all, I was pleased with this month's box. My exploration of makeup and myself continues to yield some valuable discoveries.
My beautyblender beautyblender® micro.mini is the first tool I've received in my box. I was pretty thrilled when I got it because it's tiny and adorable. The full purchase price is 18$ for a set of two. I've used blenders before, but they were full-sized and knockoffs. Working with sponges while doing makeup is tricky at first. It's certainly something that requires practice. If you learn to work them well, it can do amazing things for anyone who hates the feel of having makeup on because sponges can put it on so light it feels like nothing.
My microblender did its job. It's less porous than my knockoffs and handles water/creams better. They don't do a bad job, but the beautyblender is certainly a better texture for application. Having said that, I don't think I would bother to pay full price. The knockoffs do well enough and eventually, they're going to all fall apart. You have to keep in mind that while this is a tool you can use quite a few times, you're still going to be tossing it in the trash after a while. And as the microblender is a little tough to clean, I'm betting I'll be tossing it away sooner than later.
The scent this month was a double scent. Kat Von D's Sinner and Saint perfumes. Separately, they run 65$ for 1.6 oz. Apparently, she stopped making these for a while and just started production again. I liked Saint more than Sinner because it's lighter and floral, but even it was too heavy of a scent for me to be totally in love with it. Had it just been the vanilla and jasmine, I would have been fine, but she also adds notes of mandarin, caramel, Mirabelle plum, sandalwood, and creamy musk. It's just A LOT. She said she created it a scent that reminded her of falling in love for the first time....and....well, as I said. It's A LOT.
Sinner seemed out of place as a summer scent. It has the jasmine, mandarin, vanilla, and plum in common with Saint, but adds orange blossom, but adds cinnamon, vetiver, patchouli, and wood. Which . . . patchouli . . . though I do admit she masks the patchouli well. Then again, with all this other stuff in there, how could she not? She said this was her more edgy side, which, yes, I get, but it's still A LOT. The problem with scents this complicated is that nothing really stands out. On some people that may work, but on me, it just comes off as someone spraying jasmine Fabreeze in the room where people had an orgy.
Over all, I was pleased with this month's box. My exploration of makeup and myself continues to yield some valuable discoveries.
Friday, August 18, 2017
August Box Skin and Hair
It occurs to me that if you don't know I'm talking about beauty products, my various monthly titles might sound a little sinister.
The skin item is GLAMGLOW VOLCASMIC™ Matte Glow Moisturizer and to own 1.7 oz of it, you must pay 54$. I have to say that is way out there far more than I would feel comfortable paying for a moisturizer. And yet, I would seriously be tempted by this product. It's fabulous. As it also acts as a primer, I will admit my makeup never felt as good as it did when I had this on my skin. Not only did it glide on smooth and light, but it held during very hot weather.
Apparently, the volcanic sand acts as little tiny sponges that absorb oil. For anyone who has oily skin, this product would make you happy. When the oil is being handled, pores feel tiny and skin feels tighter. When I was reading the description, it talked about how Glamglow keeps the skin 'calm.' I snarked at this, at first. I used the product and now I get it. My makeup has never been so uneventful. No sliding. No melting. No long streaks of sweat and disruption. Glorious.
My hair item for this month is ALTERNA Haircare CAVIAR Anti-Aging Miracle Multiplying Volume Mist and it costs 30$. Now, this product is supposed to help people regain volume and look fuller, like how it looked when you were younger. They note in the product description this is best done with the shampoo and conditioner related to this product. I don't have those so I can't attest to its thickening abilities.
I can say I love the way it smells. It smells like grape soda and that makes me happy. I also like its holding power. When I put it on, it did what I wished without feeling clumpy or stiff. I would go so far as to say it made my hair feel BETTER than it does with no product in it at all.
Would I pay 30$ for it? No. It's a nice product and I would go so far as to say it does feel very lux, but I can't justify that amount of money for hair spray. Mind you, if it really does, over the course of the month, make me feel like my hair is thicker and better, I might change my mind. It would have to be drastic though because my guess is the shampoo and conditioner are equally expensive.
Tomorrow we're talking about two scents I received and my baby beauty blender. That should be fun.
The skin item is GLAMGLOW VOLCASMIC™ Matte Glow Moisturizer and to own 1.7 oz of it, you must pay 54$. I have to say that is way out there far more than I would feel comfortable paying for a moisturizer. And yet, I would seriously be tempted by this product. It's fabulous. As it also acts as a primer, I will admit my makeup never felt as good as it did when I had this on my skin. Not only did it glide on smooth and light, but it held during very hot weather.
Apparently, the volcanic sand acts as little tiny sponges that absorb oil. For anyone who has oily skin, this product would make you happy. When the oil is being handled, pores feel tiny and skin feels tighter. When I was reading the description, it talked about how Glamglow keeps the skin 'calm.' I snarked at this, at first. I used the product and now I get it. My makeup has never been so uneventful. No sliding. No melting. No long streaks of sweat and disruption. Glorious.
My hair item for this month is ALTERNA Haircare CAVIAR Anti-Aging Miracle Multiplying Volume Mist and it costs 30$. Now, this product is supposed to help people regain volume and look fuller, like how it looked when you were younger. They note in the product description this is best done with the shampoo and conditioner related to this product. I don't have those so I can't attest to its thickening abilities.
I can say I love the way it smells. It smells like grape soda and that makes me happy. I also like its holding power. When I put it on, it did what I wished without feeling clumpy or stiff. I would go so far as to say it made my hair feel BETTER than it does with no product in it at all.
Would I pay 30$ for it? No. It's a nice product and I would go so far as to say it does feel very lux, but I can't justify that amount of money for hair spray. Mind you, if it really does, over the course of the month, make me feel like my hair is thicker and better, I might change my mind. It would have to be drastic though because my guess is the shampoo and conditioner are equally expensive.
Tomorrow we're talking about two scents I received and my baby beauty blender. That should be fun.
Thursday, August 17, 2017
August Box Eye Items
My Sephora box was really full this time! Normally I receive five items plus a scent. This time one of the items was doubled, as was the scent. This was a neat surprise and really pleased the Capricorn in me.
One of the benefits of having these new (and out of my usual budget) makeup items is that I'm starting to understand why my face can't tolerate certain products. If you asked before, I would say I was allergic to mascara, but I've handled the two from my boxes just fine. I think the issue is that I'm allergic to something normally put into most cheaper versions of the product and not in these.
The mascara that came in this month's box was doubled. One side was CLINIQUE High Impact Mascara (18$) and the other side was CLINIQUE Lash Building Primer (17$). What I received as a sample was a double-sided deal with the mascara on one end and the primer on the other. The primer serves two purposes. The first is that it adds a conditioner to the lashes and helps to keep the mascara on longer. From my perspective, it did this fairly well. I was pleased with it. It coats onto the lash clearish to white. The mascara is designed to do what mascara does. I will say this one is very pigmented and made my lashes look pretty glam. Because these are Clinique products, they're safe for anyone with contacts and allergies. They're also scent free and I LOVED that. Overall, I was pleased with this sample.
Would I buy these? The thing is, I'm figuring out if I plan on wearing mascara, I would need to purchase something at this price point. Scent free and easy on my eyes is the only way I'd be able to function.
I received another lash product as well, the Too Faced Mascara Melt Off Cleansing Oil. This product costs 17$. I have to confess. I have never used mascara cleansing oil. I always just washed my mascara off like I did everything else. I know cleansing oils aren't a new thing because I remember my mom having one when I was little. I remember opening the container and being confused by how the brush looked. I just thought it was some weird other mascara.
She never explained it to me because Mom had a weird relationship with makeup. Every woman in my family did. Makeup was treated as something almost forbidden, almost on the level with dirty magazines. I literally would sit behind the hedges with a friend and experiment with eyeshadows with a friend. We HID this eyeshadow under the leaves like it was our smack gear or something! People! Makeup is PAINT. It is a tool, like a knitting needle or a tube of oil paint. Don't make your kids uncomfortable about art!
Anyway, back to the melting oil, I am very pleased with it. I'm one of those people who always have raccoon eyes after wearing mascara and when I used this, that didn't happen. Some people were saying they didn't like that you wait a full minute before removal and that you still have to wipe it with something else to get the stuff off. To me, the point was that it comes off easier. Now would I buy this? That is a lot of money for a uni-tasking product when you can accomplish it with other things. On the other hand, if I were wearing an intense, hard to get off mascara every day, it might be a worthwhile investment.
As I said above, the mascara (and related eye products) have been interesting for me. I am learning a lot about my eyes and what I need for them, which means I'm accomplishing one of the primary missions of this Sephora experiment. Tomorrow we'll talk about skin and hair.
One of the benefits of having these new (and out of my usual budget) makeup items is that I'm starting to understand why my face can't tolerate certain products. If you asked before, I would say I was allergic to mascara, but I've handled the two from my boxes just fine. I think the issue is that I'm allergic to something normally put into most cheaper versions of the product and not in these.
The mascara that came in this month's box was doubled. One side was CLINIQUE High Impact Mascara (18$) and the other side was CLINIQUE Lash Building Primer (17$). What I received as a sample was a double-sided deal with the mascara on one end and the primer on the other. The primer serves two purposes. The first is that it adds a conditioner to the lashes and helps to keep the mascara on longer. From my perspective, it did this fairly well. I was pleased with it. It coats onto the lash clearish to white. The mascara is designed to do what mascara does. I will say this one is very pigmented and made my lashes look pretty glam. Because these are Clinique products, they're safe for anyone with contacts and allergies. They're also scent free and I LOVED that. Overall, I was pleased with this sample.
Would I buy these? The thing is, I'm figuring out if I plan on wearing mascara, I would need to purchase something at this price point. Scent free and easy on my eyes is the only way I'd be able to function.
I received another lash product as well, the Too Faced Mascara Melt Off Cleansing Oil. This product costs 17$. I have to confess. I have never used mascara cleansing oil. I always just washed my mascara off like I did everything else. I know cleansing oils aren't a new thing because I remember my mom having one when I was little. I remember opening the container and being confused by how the brush looked. I just thought it was some weird other mascara.
She never explained it to me because Mom had a weird relationship with makeup. Every woman in my family did. Makeup was treated as something almost forbidden, almost on the level with dirty magazines. I literally would sit behind the hedges with a friend and experiment with eyeshadows with a friend. We HID this eyeshadow under the leaves like it was our smack gear or something! People! Makeup is PAINT. It is a tool, like a knitting needle or a tube of oil paint. Don't make your kids uncomfortable about art!
Anyway, back to the melting oil, I am very pleased with it. I'm one of those people who always have raccoon eyes after wearing mascara and when I used this, that didn't happen. Some people were saying they didn't like that you wait a full minute before removal and that you still have to wipe it with something else to get the stuff off. To me, the point was that it comes off easier. Now would I buy this? That is a lot of money for a uni-tasking product when you can accomplish it with other things. On the other hand, if I were wearing an intense, hard to get off mascara every day, it might be a worthwhile investment.
As I said above, the mascara (and related eye products) have been interesting for me. I am learning a lot about my eyes and what I need for them, which means I'm accomplishing one of the primary missions of this Sephora experiment. Tomorrow we'll talk about skin and hair.
Saturday, July 22, 2017
July Box Spa Items
Beauty Staycation's main thrust is a collection of masks, scrubs, and other items people use to detoxify and revitalize the skin. From what I understand, everyone got two of the various items they had up for selection. When I watched the video, I kind of wished I would have gotten the one with cucumber in it because I LOVE the smell of cucumbers. I was pretty happy with my products, even if they don't smell like the cleanest freshest of cucumbers.
In fact, the first product I'll be talking about is, by far, what I viewed as the most coveted item in the box. The boscia Charcoal Pore Pudding Intensive Wash-Off Treatment, retailing for 38$ (2.8 oz) is probably the thing most people would want. Charcoal skin treatments are really trending right now. I've seen a lot of people using the masks that dry on the face. I wasn't really keen on those since, well, I don't like pain.
Fortunately, this product doesn't cause pain! It really does have the consistency of pudding and washes off with ease. It's also a stripe of white charcoal and black charcoal. The black detoxifies while the white adds moisture. This keeps it from drying you out too much. I will warn you. It's messy. You'll need to be near your sink or wet wipes when you use it.
I've mostly used this on my nose. Because I have to sleep with a CPAP, my nose has larger pores. Dealing with them is an ongoing battle for me, but I think this is working pretty well. I'm not sure I would buy it at this price, because I liked the clay based mask I got the first month better. For people who are super interested in charcoal, however, this might be fun for you.
My final product this month is MILK MAKEUP Cooling Water. This gel stick sells for 24$ and just happens to be the first beauty gel stick I've ever used. I will admit, that part is weird. It's like rubbing gel deodorant on your face. I'm not sure I like that as a delivery system. You have to use more of it than you think you should and it is a little awkward. Now, having said that, once it's on your face, you don't notice it. One of the many, many unpleasant aspects of summer is when you have a heavy, hot moisturizer sitting on your face. With the Cooling Water, you get to avoid that.
Now I was excited about this product because it's a de-puffer. It has caffeine and seawater, both of which contain anti-inflammatory properties. I loved the idea of putting caffeine on my skin because it's something I truly believe in. This also has some mint notes to it, so you wake up when you apply it.
One of the things I noticed in reading reviews is that people who live in hotter climates are finding this to be more beneficial than people where the weather isn't as awful. In places where humidity isn't a factor, I'm seeing people just be indifferent to this product. People living in really humid conditions are finding this to be quite useful.
Would I buy it again? I'm a little on the fence about that. On one hand, I think it worked well for me. I did find it soothing and it helped with eye puffiness. On the other hand, as I said above, I don't like the delivery system. The gel doesn't go on well. Then again, I like it a lot once it IS on. So I don't know. I'm thinking the good outweighs the bad here.
Overall, I really loved my July box. I found the curation process to be logical and enjoyed the products I received. The mascara was a revelation and probably my favorite of the month. Everything else gave me quite a lot to think about. This is always important when I consider the art of my face.
In fact, the first product I'll be talking about is, by far, what I viewed as the most coveted item in the box. The boscia Charcoal Pore Pudding Intensive Wash-Off Treatment, retailing for 38$ (2.8 oz) is probably the thing most people would want. Charcoal skin treatments are really trending right now. I've seen a lot of people using the masks that dry on the face. I wasn't really keen on those since, well, I don't like pain.
Fortunately, this product doesn't cause pain! It really does have the consistency of pudding and washes off with ease. It's also a stripe of white charcoal and black charcoal. The black detoxifies while the white adds moisture. This keeps it from drying you out too much. I will warn you. It's messy. You'll need to be near your sink or wet wipes when you use it.
I've mostly used this on my nose. Because I have to sleep with a CPAP, my nose has larger pores. Dealing with them is an ongoing battle for me, but I think this is working pretty well. I'm not sure I would buy it at this price, because I liked the clay based mask I got the first month better. For people who are super interested in charcoal, however, this might be fun for you.
My final product this month is MILK MAKEUP Cooling Water. This gel stick sells for 24$ and just happens to be the first beauty gel stick I've ever used. I will admit, that part is weird. It's like rubbing gel deodorant on your face. I'm not sure I like that as a delivery system. You have to use more of it than you think you should and it is a little awkward. Now, having said that, once it's on your face, you don't notice it. One of the many, many unpleasant aspects of summer is when you have a heavy, hot moisturizer sitting on your face. With the Cooling Water, you get to avoid that.
Now I was excited about this product because it's a de-puffer. It has caffeine and seawater, both of which contain anti-inflammatory properties. I loved the idea of putting caffeine on my skin because it's something I truly believe in. This also has some mint notes to it, so you wake up when you apply it.
One of the things I noticed in reading reviews is that people who live in hotter climates are finding this to be more beneficial than people where the weather isn't as awful. In places where humidity isn't a factor, I'm seeing people just be indifferent to this product. People living in really humid conditions are finding this to be quite useful.
Would I buy it again? I'm a little on the fence about that. On one hand, I think it worked well for me. I did find it soothing and it helped with eye puffiness. On the other hand, as I said above, I don't like the delivery system. The gel doesn't go on well. Then again, I like it a lot once it IS on. So I don't know. I'm thinking the good outweighs the bad here.
Overall, I really loved my July box. I found the curation process to be logical and enjoyed the products I received. The mascara was a revelation and probably my favorite of the month. Everything else gave me quite a lot to think about. This is always important when I consider the art of my face.
Friday, July 21, 2017
July Box Painting Options
July solved a problem for me with these boxes and actually challenged me on something at the same time. This is exactly what I wanted, really. I signed up for this, in part, to expose myself to make up options I just never would consider otherwise. In that way, July paid off well for me. The funny thing about this is that the July box (Beauty Staycation) was designed to highlight various spa items. I liked the ones I got, but I think the lip and lash items I'll be talking about turned out to be what I liked the best.
If you read the blog, then you know I have all kinds of problems with my eyes. They are really bratty when it comes to me putting anything on them. The main thing I tend to avoid is mascara. When I pulled one out of my box, I sighed a little, as I assumed it was a product I just wouldn't be using. One of the nice things about reviewing these on the blog, though, is that it ensures I'll experiment with the product, anyway. At least enough to where I can write about it.
The thing is, IT Cosmetics Superhero™ Elastic Stretch Volumizing Mascara really surprised me. In terms of lash paint, this stuff is great. For one thing, it was developed by plastic surgeons and it's supposed to serve not only to make your lashes look longer but to give them their own kind of skin care. When you use it, it supplies the lashes with biotin and collagen. And while I said yesterday that you really can't heal your hair, you can certainly feed it stuff to make it look more healthy.
Normally mascara smells horrible to me. As soon as I would smell it, it would make my eyes begin to revolt. This stuff smells like nothing and my eyes handle it just fine. In fact, while normal mascara would just make my lashes look goopy and bad, this honestly does make them look longer. It's shocking.
Would I purchase this? Actually, yes, even if it is 24$. Now the thing is, as I type this, I'm thinking about a conversation drag queens Katya and Trixie had on their show one time when Katya said you should never pay more than 10$ for mascara. Trixie disagrees with her and Katya says, "WHO HURT YOU!?!?" It's funny, but the truth is, my eyes, hon. My eyes are what hurt me. If a mascara can keep from doing that, you bet your rubber chicken I would buy it.
I also got the usual lipstick they put in the bag. As you know, I've not been pleased with the lipsticks because I'm so picky about colors. When I pulled out the bareMinerals GEN NUDE™ Matte Liquid Lipcolor in Swag I didn't hold out a lot of hope. For one thing, it was another matte color, my third in three months.
But this time they got it right! The shade, called Swag, is the perfect level of pink for me and I love it so much. I don't even mind the fact that it's a matte because it actually still looks decent when I put it on. Now mind you, this might be because this lip color contains all of the stuff they put in primers so it's far more moisturizing and hydrating than most of the matte products I've tried. It looks velvety and soft, not heavy and overwhelming. It's a tease of lip color and that's just the kind of thing I like.
I honestly would pay the full 18$ for this, especially if I didn't have another primer to work with. If it does both and looks this good as a result, I certainly think it's worth the price.
As I am sure you can tell by now, I'm really enjoying the July box. It came with a lot of nice surprises for me and I've not even gotten into the featured items for the month. I'll be doing that tomorrow, including a review of something I've been wanting to try for quite awhile.
If you read the blog, then you know I have all kinds of problems with my eyes. They are really bratty when it comes to me putting anything on them. The main thing I tend to avoid is mascara. When I pulled one out of my box, I sighed a little, as I assumed it was a product I just wouldn't be using. One of the nice things about reviewing these on the blog, though, is that it ensures I'll experiment with the product, anyway. At least enough to where I can write about it.
The thing is, IT Cosmetics Superhero™ Elastic Stretch Volumizing Mascara really surprised me. In terms of lash paint, this stuff is great. For one thing, it was developed by plastic surgeons and it's supposed to serve not only to make your lashes look longer but to give them their own kind of skin care. When you use it, it supplies the lashes with biotin and collagen. And while I said yesterday that you really can't heal your hair, you can certainly feed it stuff to make it look more healthy.
Normally mascara smells horrible to me. As soon as I would smell it, it would make my eyes begin to revolt. This stuff smells like nothing and my eyes handle it just fine. In fact, while normal mascara would just make my lashes look goopy and bad, this honestly does make them look longer. It's shocking.
Would I purchase this? Actually, yes, even if it is 24$. Now the thing is, as I type this, I'm thinking about a conversation drag queens Katya and Trixie had on their show one time when Katya said you should never pay more than 10$ for mascara. Trixie disagrees with her and Katya says, "WHO HURT YOU!?!?" It's funny, but the truth is, my eyes, hon. My eyes are what hurt me. If a mascara can keep from doing that, you bet your rubber chicken I would buy it.
I also got the usual lipstick they put in the bag. As you know, I've not been pleased with the lipsticks because I'm so picky about colors. When I pulled out the bareMinerals GEN NUDE™ Matte Liquid Lipcolor in Swag I didn't hold out a lot of hope. For one thing, it was another matte color, my third in three months.
But this time they got it right! The shade, called Swag, is the perfect level of pink for me and I love it so much. I don't even mind the fact that it's a matte because it actually still looks decent when I put it on. Now mind you, this might be because this lip color contains all of the stuff they put in primers so it's far more moisturizing and hydrating than most of the matte products I've tried. It looks velvety and soft, not heavy and overwhelming. It's a tease of lip color and that's just the kind of thing I like.
I honestly would pay the full 18$ for this, especially if I didn't have another primer to work with. If it does both and looks this good as a result, I certainly think it's worth the price.
As I am sure you can tell by now, I'm really enjoying the July box. It came with a lot of nice surprises for me and I've not even gotten into the featured items for the month. I'll be doing that tomorrow, including a review of something I've been wanting to try for quite awhile.
Thursday, July 20, 2017
July Box Hair and Scent
The July box actually got here last week, but it's taken Sephora this long to update the page with all the links I need. I mean, I could have gone and looked them up myself. I could have, but let's face it there is no way I was going to do that. Too involved. The theme this month was Beauty Staycation.
I'm starting with the only hair care product this month, Briogeo Rosarco Milk™ Reparative Leave-In Conditioning Spray. Normally this conditioner costs around 20$ for a 5 oz bottle. I had a talk with my roommate, who knows a lot about hair, and we both agreed the basic idea of this was bogus. You really can't repair hair that is damaged. You can restore the health of a scalp. You can protect hair from more damage. However, there isn't something you put on your hair and it just goes back to being healed and unbroken.
Now, even though 'reparative' is in the name of the product when I researched it a little, it didn't actually claim to repair anything. The spray only claims to bring moisture, protect from UV rays, make things shine, and do all of that without weighing the hair down. I honestly think it would have been better to push these aspects instead of the 'repair' thing. Anything that makes your hair sleek and manageable while keeping it safe during the heat is a great product.
I like the product. It smells nice but it's hard to go wrong with something that has rosehip as its main ingredient. My only problem with it is the fact that it's a spray. Sprays are hard to gauge when you're putting something directly on your hair. Having too little goes to having too much in like one spray. My roommate suggested I just spray it into my hand. I'll do that next time because it left things a little crunchy.
The scent this month was Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine Cologne Absolue Pure Perfume and normally you pay 130$ for the 3.3 oz bottle. I feel like this scent hit the mark better than the one from last month in terms of the theme. A citrus scent during the summer makes a lot of sense. This has lots of zestiness and freshness to it. It has bloom oranges, bitter oranges, sandalwood, amber wood, jasmine, geranium, and tonka beans.
Did it work for me? No. And I find that interesting. Not because I'm challenging the fact that it didn't work for me, but just how amazingly wrong a citrus can be for you when another one can be so right. I love fresh limes. I think there is nothing that works as well with my body chemistry as fresh lime. A close second to this is regular oranges. I don't like it quite as much as lime, but almost. I had assumed the same would work with blood oranges but I was very, very much mistaken.
The whole blood orange/other stuff mix just clashed horribly with me. It did not work at all. But that's the nature of perfumes. Some work for you and others just seriously don't. This isn't to say I hated the scent. I thought it was nice in abstraction. It just didn't work for me.
I'm starting with the only hair care product this month, Briogeo Rosarco Milk™ Reparative Leave-In Conditioning Spray. Normally this conditioner costs around 20$ for a 5 oz bottle. I had a talk with my roommate, who knows a lot about hair, and we both agreed the basic idea of this was bogus. You really can't repair hair that is damaged. You can restore the health of a scalp. You can protect hair from more damage. However, there isn't something you put on your hair and it just goes back to being healed and unbroken.
Now, even though 'reparative' is in the name of the product when I researched it a little, it didn't actually claim to repair anything. The spray only claims to bring moisture, protect from UV rays, make things shine, and do all of that without weighing the hair down. I honestly think it would have been better to push these aspects instead of the 'repair' thing. Anything that makes your hair sleek and manageable while keeping it safe during the heat is a great product.
I like the product. It smells nice but it's hard to go wrong with something that has rosehip as its main ingredient. My only problem with it is the fact that it's a spray. Sprays are hard to gauge when you're putting something directly on your hair. Having too little goes to having too much in like one spray. My roommate suggested I just spray it into my hand. I'll do that next time because it left things a little crunchy.
The scent this month was Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine Cologne Absolue Pure Perfume and normally you pay 130$ for the 3.3 oz bottle. I feel like this scent hit the mark better than the one from last month in terms of the theme. A citrus scent during the summer makes a lot of sense. This has lots of zestiness and freshness to it. It has bloom oranges, bitter oranges, sandalwood, amber wood, jasmine, geranium, and tonka beans.
Did it work for me? No. And I find that interesting. Not because I'm challenging the fact that it didn't work for me, but just how amazingly wrong a citrus can be for you when another one can be so right. I love fresh limes. I think there is nothing that works as well with my body chemistry as fresh lime. A close second to this is regular oranges. I don't like it quite as much as lime, but almost. I had assumed the same would work with blood oranges but I was very, very much mistaken.
The whole blood orange/other stuff mix just clashed horribly with me. It did not work at all. But that's the nature of perfumes. Some work for you and others just seriously don't. This isn't to say I hated the scent. I thought it was nice in abstraction. It just didn't work for me.
Thursday, June 22, 2017
June Box: Hair Care Items
Okay, this is an interesting side note to me getting these to hair care items. On Tuesday, I got my hair cut into a short little Beth Ditto-ish punk pixie. I love it a lot, but even if I didn't, I wouldn't care because my hair was making me so hot before. Not hot in a sexy way, hot in a sweaty, I want to die because it's summer kind of way. The shortness and health of my hair is making it look amazing on all accounts so the two products I have for hair care didn't really impress me overly much.
The problem is, I'm not sure they would have impressed me before either. My hair is either completely great due to having a good cut or a pain in the ass that does nothing right because it's too long. During the summer, there is no good hair day if my hair is long. It's just impossible.
The first product isn't just a hair product. Ouai Rose Hair & Body Oil retails for 32$ and is mainly made from sunflower and shea oil. It also contains rose and apricot, and while one might think the rose scent would make it too old lady-ish, it's really mild. From what I understand, as a hair product, this is mainly used as a defrizzer. Right now, frizz isn't a problem for me. I used it to touch up some of the dry patches on my skin and it worked pretty well. This is probably what I'll use it for.
As you know, Sephora sends out sample sizes of the products so I don't know if this would be an issue with the actual full-sized version, but I'm having difficulties with the same size of this product. It's constantly oily and slick. It leaks and I'm sure it will soon attract dust and other nastiness to make it into just this godawful mess. A product that does that kind of thing is eventually going to get on my last nerve unless it is supremely great.
The last item was IGK Rich Kid Coconut Oil Gel. This product costs 27$ and was created by a group of in-demand stylists from across the US. It's difficult for me not to like something that smells like coconut. This smells nice and it goes on okay. In the video over the product, they talked about how this was best for fine hair because it isn't heavy. In the reviews, however, a lot of people with curly and thicker hair were saying they liked it.
The basic problem for me is that I'm not really all that into the sort of look this aims to create. Well, okay, technically I am, but I can achieve the same thing by just not washing my hair. This product is mostly used to achieve what they call a 'lived in' look, which is, from what I've been able to tell, the look people have when they get off a plane after having drunken sleep for the last eight hours. It's a little more separated and mismanaged than what I would want to pay a product to do. My hair will look that way all on its own.
At the end of the day, I was least interested in these two products. Neither was truly offensive, but they just weren't my cup of tea. I will admit, part of that is just my complicated and constantly annoyed situation with my hair. The other part is just not really finding them that impressive. However, I would encourage anyone to read the other reviews of them before making up their mind. Hair is very subjective and my flyaway, thin as hell hair should never make up anyone's mind about hair products at all.
The problem is, I'm not sure they would have impressed me before either. My hair is either completely great due to having a good cut or a pain in the ass that does nothing right because it's too long. During the summer, there is no good hair day if my hair is long. It's just impossible.
The first product isn't just a hair product. Ouai Rose Hair & Body Oil retails for 32$ and is mainly made from sunflower and shea oil. It also contains rose and apricot, and while one might think the rose scent would make it too old lady-ish, it's really mild. From what I understand, as a hair product, this is mainly used as a defrizzer. Right now, frizz isn't a problem for me. I used it to touch up some of the dry patches on my skin and it worked pretty well. This is probably what I'll use it for.
As you know, Sephora sends out sample sizes of the products so I don't know if this would be an issue with the actual full-sized version, but I'm having difficulties with the same size of this product. It's constantly oily and slick. It leaks and I'm sure it will soon attract dust and other nastiness to make it into just this godawful mess. A product that does that kind of thing is eventually going to get on my last nerve unless it is supremely great.
The last item was IGK Rich Kid Coconut Oil Gel. This product costs 27$ and was created by a group of in-demand stylists from across the US. It's difficult for me not to like something that smells like coconut. This smells nice and it goes on okay. In the video over the product, they talked about how this was best for fine hair because it isn't heavy. In the reviews, however, a lot of people with curly and thicker hair were saying they liked it.
The basic problem for me is that I'm not really all that into the sort of look this aims to create. Well, okay, technically I am, but I can achieve the same thing by just not washing my hair. This product is mostly used to achieve what they call a 'lived in' look, which is, from what I've been able to tell, the look people have when they get off a plane after having drunken sleep for the last eight hours. It's a little more separated and mismanaged than what I would want to pay a product to do. My hair will look that way all on its own.
At the end of the day, I was least interested in these two products. Neither was truly offensive, but they just weren't my cup of tea. I will admit, part of that is just my complicated and constantly annoyed situation with my hair. The other part is just not really finding them that impressive. However, I would encourage anyone to read the other reviews of them before making up their mind. Hair is very subjective and my flyaway, thin as hell hair should never make up anyone's mind about hair products at all.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
June Box: Skincare Items
One of the things I'm enjoying about the Sephora boxes is the variety of product. During both months, I've gotten skin care products. This shows a clear level of priority because skin care is fundamental when it comes to beauty. They're sending me haircare stuff too, but we'll talk about that tomorrow. Anyway, on to our primers.
The first one is First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Coconut Skin Smoothie Priming Moisturizer. It costs 28$ when bought at regular cost. Smoothie is a good term here, as this is mostly a mix of things you could actually eat. The product contains coconut water infused with electrolytes, amino acids, and phytonutrients. This is to bring nourishment and hydration to the skin. This is also quinoa, used to protect and strengthen the skin's surface. All of our food items combine with mircopearls that add a shimmer.
Somehow, the combination of all of this does the best thing ever. It makes the product smell like sweet tarts! It's an absolute delight to put on. Even better, despite the sweet smell, it doesn't seem to cause any eye irritation. Now while this product is used as a primer, many people use it as their daily foundation. It covers just enough to give the skin a great glow and hide most issues. It makes my nose look amazing.
I would absolutely pay for this product. It smells wonderful, it looks good, and it feels like nothing is on your skin. I'm enjoying it immensely and will certainly miss it when it's gone.
The next product is The Porefessional Face Primer by Benefit Cosmetics. Grammarly is hating the name of it and I hate the name of it too. It's cutesy, but . . . no. This product costs 31$. This primer claims to do a lot of stuff. This product is a balm that has the primary purpose of reducing the appearance of pores. It also claims to minimize the look of any fine lines on the face and help makeup to last longer by being applied over the makeup throughout the day.
When it came to handling pores, it did fine. That is the main function of the product and it succeeded. It reduces the pronounced line I have on my forehead. I could still see it, but it wasn't as obvious. I think I was most impressed by that. Moreover, it feels very lightweight and doesn't add to the overall thickness of the makeup.
Would I pay 31$ for it? Probably not. Now again, this is just me. A lot of people swear by Benefit Cosmetics and love the way their products combine. This is my first experience with them and I may feel differently when I've had more exposure.
When it comes to the theme of the month, I certainly see now these two products fit. Both of them are so lightweight that any summer makeup is going to be easier to handle when you use them. The first one, especially, works as a summer product because not only can it be used all on its own, the glow it gives you is just grand.
The first one is First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Coconut Skin Smoothie Priming Moisturizer. It costs 28$ when bought at regular cost. Smoothie is a good term here, as this is mostly a mix of things you could actually eat. The product contains coconut water infused with electrolytes, amino acids, and phytonutrients. This is to bring nourishment and hydration to the skin. This is also quinoa, used to protect and strengthen the skin's surface. All of our food items combine with mircopearls that add a shimmer.
Somehow, the combination of all of this does the best thing ever. It makes the product smell like sweet tarts! It's an absolute delight to put on. Even better, despite the sweet smell, it doesn't seem to cause any eye irritation. Now while this product is used as a primer, many people use it as their daily foundation. It covers just enough to give the skin a great glow and hide most issues. It makes my nose look amazing.
I would absolutely pay for this product. It smells wonderful, it looks good, and it feels like nothing is on your skin. I'm enjoying it immensely and will certainly miss it when it's gone.
The next product is The Porefessional Face Primer by Benefit Cosmetics. Grammarly is hating the name of it and I hate the name of it too. It's cutesy, but . . . no. This product costs 31$. This primer claims to do a lot of stuff. This product is a balm that has the primary purpose of reducing the appearance of pores. It also claims to minimize the look of any fine lines on the face and help makeup to last longer by being applied over the makeup throughout the day.
When it came to handling pores, it did fine. That is the main function of the product and it succeeded. It reduces the pronounced line I have on my forehead. I could still see it, but it wasn't as obvious. I think I was most impressed by that. Moreover, it feels very lightweight and doesn't add to the overall thickness of the makeup.
Would I pay 31$ for it? Probably not. Now again, this is just me. A lot of people swear by Benefit Cosmetics and love the way their products combine. This is my first experience with them and I may feel differently when I've had more exposure.
When it comes to the theme of the month, I certainly see now these two products fit. Both of them are so lightweight that any summer makeup is going to be easier to handle when you use them. The first one, especially, works as a summer product because not only can it be used all on its own, the glow it gives you is just grand.
Monday, June 19, 2017
June Box: First Items
For some reason, my hand did not want to write items. It kept writing time. That is very annoying. Anyway, my June box from Sephora Play! came in. This time, all the products were in a little cloth baggy with drawings of women in bikinis. It's pretty adorable. The theme is Summer Starters. The thing is, the two items I'm going to talk about today seemed rather out of place in this bag. Neither of them really felt summery to me. I could make a case for both of them being in this collection, somewhat, but the color of the lipstick and just the overall nature of the scent just don't give me summer.
The scent is Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent. It retails for 91$. I didn't exactly like this scent. It has some nice elements to it and a somewhat candy-like fragrance, but it also contains notes of patchouli and I've never been a fan. Granted, they handle the patchouli well. It doesn't swallow up everything else, but it does add this kind of heaviness to the scent that doesn't please me and certainly doesn't feel summery. I know a lot of people would balk at this review because technically, this is an award winning perfume. It just isn't to my taste.
The next item was one of Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in K-Dub. The product retails for 20$. It comes in 42 shades and some of them have glorious names! One shade is called Backstage Bambi and one shade is called Underage Red. I want to buy Underage Red just so I can tell people I have a lipstick called Underaged Red! Anyway, back to the review.
Everlasting is actually a pretty amazing product. It stays on quite well and it feels really light on the lips. Even though it feels like nothing, the shade has quite an impact because it's highly pigmented. This is cool, but it also causes some problems. My roommate said it didn't LOOK very light, and I'll agree with him there, but the feel of it is great.
Part of the issue is that I didn't exactly like the K-Dub shade. Like with the lipstick last month, this one, while very pigmented, was matte. I'm just not a fan of matte lips. The other problem is that it's kind of a noncommittal magenta. If it was either pinker or more purple, I would have liked it more. As it was, I just wasn't feeling it.
Despite the color, I would completely recommend this lipstick. If you want something that gives a lot of intensity without feeling like you missed seven clowns to achieve the color, Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid is a good way to get it.
The scent is Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent. It retails for 91$. I didn't exactly like this scent. It has some nice elements to it and a somewhat candy-like fragrance, but it also contains notes of patchouli and I've never been a fan. Granted, they handle the patchouli well. It doesn't swallow up everything else, but it does add this kind of heaviness to the scent that doesn't please me and certainly doesn't feel summery. I know a lot of people would balk at this review because technically, this is an award winning perfume. It just isn't to my taste.
The next item was one of Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in K-Dub. The product retails for 20$. It comes in 42 shades and some of them have glorious names! One shade is called Backstage Bambi and one shade is called Underage Red. I want to buy Underage Red just so I can tell people I have a lipstick called Underaged Red! Anyway, back to the review.
Everlasting is actually a pretty amazing product. It stays on quite well and it feels really light on the lips. Even though it feels like nothing, the shade has quite an impact because it's highly pigmented. This is cool, but it also causes some problems. My roommate said it didn't LOOK very light, and I'll agree with him there, but the feel of it is great.
Part of the issue is that I didn't exactly like the K-Dub shade. Like with the lipstick last month, this one, while very pigmented, was matte. I'm just not a fan of matte lips. The other problem is that it's kind of a noncommittal magenta. If it was either pinker or more purple, I would have liked it more. As it was, I just wasn't feeling it.
Despite the color, I would completely recommend this lipstick. If you want something that gives a lot of intensity without feeling like you missed seven clowns to achieve the color, Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid is a good way to get it.
Monday, May 22, 2017
May Box: Final Items
The last three items in the box were the best. I know I said I only got five items because that's all one is really paying for. The last item, a bonus perfume sample, is, well, a bonus. More on that later.
The last two purchased items were by far my favorites. The first is SUNDAY RILEY Ceramic Slip Clay Cleanser and it retails for 45$. This cleanser is designed to help skin that has problems with acne and issues with oiliness. The two clays (a green French one and a Moroccan rhassoul) clean out the pores and then tighten them. When I first got this product, I thought it was going to be a thick clay mask kind of thing, but it wasn't. It rubs into the skin like a lotion. It smells really, well, organic. It isn't unpleasant . . . okay, it kind of is. It smells like dirt. The smell is something you can live with though because this stuff is great!
My skin feels so good after using this. In fact, even after the first application, I was basically dazzled by the level of result. I know it's probably just the change of pace from what I usually do, but seriously, wow. If I had the money, I would totally buy this product.
The next time was the Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt. It retails for 53$. This whole thing started a funny conversation between my roommate and me. I got the name wrong at first and told him it was made by Christopher Robin. He asked me if it was ground up Winnie the Pooh. I pretended to be reading the back of it and told him it was. I should have actually read it because I didn't realize this was a shampoo. I thought it was a scrub to put on after you shampooed with something else. This caused things to sud up in a pretty massive way.
Unlike the mask, this product smells amazing. It smells really clean and fresh. The crystals in it are large and I had to make sure I really scrubbed to get them to all dissolve. My hair felt really good afterward. Hair products are always tricky on me because I have really, really oily hair and things tend to look awful after only a little while. My hope is that I can get some of that handled with this product while it lasts.
Like the lip plumper, I think this is one that will take repeated applications to really give me some results. However, from what I've experienced so far, I like it. Would I pay this much for it? I'm not sure. If it does wonderful things to my hair, in the long run, I just might.
The bonus scent was MAISON MARGIELA ’REPLICA’ Beach Walk and if you want to purchase this, it will cost you 126$. I am sure you can guess that I have never put anything this fancy or expensive on my skin. I'm not really a perfume person. My body chemistry amplifies scents and projects them. Honestly, some people don't put on too much scent as much as their body just makes it seem that way.
The perfume aspect of the monthly box is another thing that really appealed to me. Scent is probably the aspect of cosmetics that I know the least about. I know what smells good on other people, but I've never really had the experience of being able to test to see what smells good on me. I wouldn't even know where to start.
Replica was a good place. It isn't anything like what I would have bought for myself. For one thing, it's beachy. Even though I like the beach scents, it's not really my scene. I wouldn't see this as something to use. I liked it, though. The beach scent was deepened by a sense of freshness and an undercurrent of watermelon. Of course, there was no actual watermelon in it. It's Bergamot, Pink Pepper, Lemon, Ylang Ylang, Coconut Milk, Heliotrope, Musk, Cedarwood, Benzoin. All of that added up to something quite nice.
Now, would I spend that much money on this? You know, if I had it to spare, I think I would. I love the scent and the actual bottle it comes in looks like an old an apothecary jar. I'm kind of a sucker for things like that.
Anyway, that's the review of my first Sephora box. Overall, I'm pleased.
The last two purchased items were by far my favorites. The first is SUNDAY RILEY Ceramic Slip Clay Cleanser and it retails for 45$. This cleanser is designed to help skin that has problems with acne and issues with oiliness. The two clays (a green French one and a Moroccan rhassoul) clean out the pores and then tighten them. When I first got this product, I thought it was going to be a thick clay mask kind of thing, but it wasn't. It rubs into the skin like a lotion. It smells really, well, organic. It isn't unpleasant . . . okay, it kind of is. It smells like dirt. The smell is something you can live with though because this stuff is great!
My skin feels so good after using this. In fact, even after the first application, I was basically dazzled by the level of result. I know it's probably just the change of pace from what I usually do, but seriously, wow. If I had the money, I would totally buy this product.
The next time was the Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt. It retails for 53$. This whole thing started a funny conversation between my roommate and me. I got the name wrong at first and told him it was made by Christopher Robin. He asked me if it was ground up Winnie the Pooh. I pretended to be reading the back of it and told him it was. I should have actually read it because I didn't realize this was a shampoo. I thought it was a scrub to put on after you shampooed with something else. This caused things to sud up in a pretty massive way.
Unlike the mask, this product smells amazing. It smells really clean and fresh. The crystals in it are large and I had to make sure I really scrubbed to get them to all dissolve. My hair felt really good afterward. Hair products are always tricky on me because I have really, really oily hair and things tend to look awful after only a little while. My hope is that I can get some of that handled with this product while it lasts.
Like the lip plumper, I think this is one that will take repeated applications to really give me some results. However, from what I've experienced so far, I like it. Would I pay this much for it? I'm not sure. If it does wonderful things to my hair, in the long run, I just might.
The bonus scent was MAISON MARGIELA ’REPLICA’ Beach Walk and if you want to purchase this, it will cost you 126$. I am sure you can guess that I have never put anything this fancy or expensive on my skin. I'm not really a perfume person. My body chemistry amplifies scents and projects them. Honestly, some people don't put on too much scent as much as their body just makes it seem that way.
The perfume aspect of the monthly box is another thing that really appealed to me. Scent is probably the aspect of cosmetics that I know the least about. I know what smells good on other people, but I've never really had the experience of being able to test to see what smells good on me. I wouldn't even know where to start.
Replica was a good place. It isn't anything like what I would have bought for myself. For one thing, it's beachy. Even though I like the beach scents, it's not really my scene. I wouldn't see this as something to use. I liked it, though. The beach scent was deepened by a sense of freshness and an undercurrent of watermelon. Of course, there was no actual watermelon in it. It's Bergamot, Pink Pepper, Lemon, Ylang Ylang, Coconut Milk, Heliotrope, Musk, Cedarwood, Benzoin. All of that added up to something quite nice.
Now, would I spend that much money on this? You know, if I had it to spare, I think I would. I love the scent and the actual bottle it comes in looks like an old an apothecary jar. I'm kind of a sucker for things like that.
Anyway, that's the review of my first Sephora box. Overall, I'm pleased.
Sunday, May 21, 2017
May Box Items Two and Three
The second item in my Sephora box was the Grande CosmeticsGrandeLIPS Hydrating Lip Plumper. I received this lip gloss/plumper in clear, though it has quite a few colors. At its full size, it retails for 27$. Now, this is an interesting product for me because I'm not someone who usually purchases cosmetics for long term effects. I don't buy wrinkle creams or the like. It's not that I'm against them. It's more that I'm poor. So the idea of something having long-term results is kind of new to me.*
Basically, the lip gloss/plumper is supposed to improve the volume of your lips using a specialized hydrating formula. There are the short-term effects, which show up usually 3-5 minutes after an application, and then more lasting results that are supposed to happen if you use the plumper twice a day for a month. Now I'm not sure about what will happen a month from now, but this product certainly has results on a quick basis. I noticed it most on my lower lip. It got nice and poochy after I used the gloss.
I was pretty hesitant about this product because several years ago, I had a really bad experience with a lip plumper. It burned my lip so badly that it hurt for hours. The Grande is certainly tingly when it's applied, but, at least for me, not to a painful level. It also has a nice scent and taste to it. I certainly wouldn't kiss anyone after I put it on, not without warning them first.
Overall, I'm pleased with this product. Given my past experience with plumpers and the fact that I don't spend money on long-term cosmetics, it's certainly not something I would have purchased for myself. Then again, that's one of the nice things about getting a box like this.
The next product was the NUDESTIX Magnetic Matte Lip Color. It normally costs 24$. This is a three-in-one lip color. It works as a liner, a stain, or a lipstick. It's supposed to stay in place all day. The color I received was the Greystone. I wasn't that happy with this one. I think maybe the color was part of the problem. The Greystone, as a lipstick, was way too dark for me. Even when I blotted it down to a stain, I wasn't that pleased. It was better, but still not great. It worked okay as a liner, but only under certain circumstances would a wear a liner that dark.
I checked the color swatches included on the page and feel like, honestly, any of the other colors would have suited me better. If I were buying this for myself, I would have gotten the Rose. It's closer to the kind of colors I usually wear. If I were feeling my gothy roots, I would have gone for the Vino or the Burgundy.
If I'm being honest here, and this will probably apply to any lipstick I receive, I have to keep in mind that I'm usually not that pleased with this kind of cosmetic because I think, with my skin tone, the natural shade of my lips is always the best match. I may highlight them and shade them, but the majority of the lip will just be covered in a clear gloss.
In this case, another problem is the fact that it's matte. I'm just not a fan of how matte lipsticks look on me. There are people who rock the hell out of matte, but I am not one of them. Matte lipsticks dull out too much of what is great about my lips and then I have to spend way too much effort to rebuild that with other products. It's more effort than its worth for me.
So, one lip product, I love. The other one just doesn't work for me. I did enjoy messing with both of them and will certainly keep working with the plumper, just to see what it does. As for the 3-in-1, I'll keep it around for shading.
* That reminds me, I never reported back on the Castor Oil eyebrow experiment. I believe it worked-ish. My eyebrow hairs look better and they did grow a little longer. However, they've thinned and grayed out so much that it may take quite a long time before I see major changes . . . if ever.
Basically, the lip gloss/plumper is supposed to improve the volume of your lips using a specialized hydrating formula. There are the short-term effects, which show up usually 3-5 minutes after an application, and then more lasting results that are supposed to happen if you use the plumper twice a day for a month. Now I'm not sure about what will happen a month from now, but this product certainly has results on a quick basis. I noticed it most on my lower lip. It got nice and poochy after I used the gloss.
I was pretty hesitant about this product because several years ago, I had a really bad experience with a lip plumper. It burned my lip so badly that it hurt for hours. The Grande is certainly tingly when it's applied, but, at least for me, not to a painful level. It also has a nice scent and taste to it. I certainly wouldn't kiss anyone after I put it on, not without warning them first.
Overall, I'm pleased with this product. Given my past experience with plumpers and the fact that I don't spend money on long-term cosmetics, it's certainly not something I would have purchased for myself. Then again, that's one of the nice things about getting a box like this.
The next product was the NUDESTIX Magnetic Matte Lip Color. It normally costs 24$. This is a three-in-one lip color. It works as a liner, a stain, or a lipstick. It's supposed to stay in place all day. The color I received was the Greystone. I wasn't that happy with this one. I think maybe the color was part of the problem. The Greystone, as a lipstick, was way too dark for me. Even when I blotted it down to a stain, I wasn't that pleased. It was better, but still not great. It worked okay as a liner, but only under certain circumstances would a wear a liner that dark.
I checked the color swatches included on the page and feel like, honestly, any of the other colors would have suited me better. If I were buying this for myself, I would have gotten the Rose. It's closer to the kind of colors I usually wear. If I were feeling my gothy roots, I would have gone for the Vino or the Burgundy.
If I'm being honest here, and this will probably apply to any lipstick I receive, I have to keep in mind that I'm usually not that pleased with this kind of cosmetic because I think, with my skin tone, the natural shade of my lips is always the best match. I may highlight them and shade them, but the majority of the lip will just be covered in a clear gloss.
In this case, another problem is the fact that it's matte. I'm just not a fan of how matte lipsticks look on me. There are people who rock the hell out of matte, but I am not one of them. Matte lipsticks dull out too much of what is great about my lips and then I have to spend way too much effort to rebuild that with other products. It's more effort than its worth for me.
So, one lip product, I love. The other one just doesn't work for me. I did enjoy messing with both of them and will certainly keep working with the plumper, just to see what it does. As for the 3-in-1, I'll keep it around for shading.
* That reminds me, I never reported back on the Castor Oil eyebrow experiment. I believe it worked-ish. My eyebrow hairs look better and they did grow a little longer. However, they've thinned and grayed out so much that it may take quite a long time before I see major changes . . . if ever.
Saturday, May 20, 2017
May Box: Item One
So in the midst of all the pain and grief of Rowan leaving us, I got my first Sephora Play! box. It's a ten dollar box and you get five things out of it. Two bucks per item is cheap even for the cheapest of makeup and these samples are by no means cheap makeup. In most cases, it's enough to hold you for a while and it's the only way most people would ever be able to see how they like these things. I would rather fork over 2$ for a product and find out I didn't like it than spend 120$ and hate it.
The first item out of my box was trèStiQueHighlight & Perfect Multipurpose Stick. This highlighter stick usually retails for about 34$. It's a stick highlighter for brightening up those places that need to shine. I'm not super happy with most stick highlighters because my skin does not receive them well. My face likes powders more. This isn't the fault of the product. This is my skin.
I did think it went on more smoothly than the other highlighter sticks I've used before and I like that it doesn't shine too much. I also think it worked really well on my lips. What impressed me the most about the sample was the packaging. For one thing, it rotates up like a lipstick would. A lot of other stick highlighters don't do that. It's also a good size. Overall, other than my skin being bratty, it was a good product.
As for the job it's supposed to do, I think it worked well in that department. Highlighters need to have a balance to them. If they shimmer too much, you look overly done. If they don't have enough to them, it's really not worth the effort. This highlighter covers well and gives good results.
Would I spend over thirty dollars on it? Not personally, no, but again, that is because of how my skin deals with sticks. For someone else, who doesn't have that kind of problem, I think this would be a great highlighter.The packaging is well designed and easy to use. I realize that seems like a small detail, but we've all used makeup before that came in difficult packaging. Now if I had unlimited and funds and could spend that kind of money to just use it on my lips, I would certainly buy it. It made my lips look like honey.
The first item out of my box was trèStiQueHighlight & Perfect Multipurpose Stick. This highlighter stick usually retails for about 34$. It's a stick highlighter for brightening up those places that need to shine. I'm not super happy with most stick highlighters because my skin does not receive them well. My face likes powders more. This isn't the fault of the product. This is my skin.
I did think it went on more smoothly than the other highlighter sticks I've used before and I like that it doesn't shine too much. I also think it worked really well on my lips. What impressed me the most about the sample was the packaging. For one thing, it rotates up like a lipstick would. A lot of other stick highlighters don't do that. It's also a good size. Overall, other than my skin being bratty, it was a good product.
As for the job it's supposed to do, I think it worked well in that department. Highlighters need to have a balance to them. If they shimmer too much, you look overly done. If they don't have enough to them, it's really not worth the effort. This highlighter covers well and gives good results.
Would I spend over thirty dollars on it? Not personally, no, but again, that is because of how my skin deals with sticks. For someone else, who doesn't have that kind of problem, I think this would be a great highlighter.The packaging is well designed and easy to use. I realize that seems like a small detail, but we've all used makeup before that came in difficult packaging. Now if I had unlimited and funds and could spend that kind of money to just use it on my lips, I would certainly buy it. It made my lips look like honey.
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