May 28, 2016

life update

Oh goodness, it really has been a while. May has been quite the difficult time for me in my personal life and work life. But I do have posts on there way! I just wanted to give a quick post that I'm still here and I'm looking forward to getting back into blogging♥

May 14, 2016

April Birchbox 2016

Good Morning! Today I bring my review of this month's Birchbox which I wish I was more excited for the products in it as I was for the design of the box. Rifle Paper Co. designed this box for this month and it's definitely going to be re-purposed (I was thinking maybe for sheet mask and mini mask samples?)










Acure Organics Pore Minimizing Facial Scrub: Probably my least favorite product in this box. Although it deeply cleans the skin well and slightly exfoliates it, I couldn't get over the smell. It might have just been me, but I feel like it almost has a curry smell to it (it might have been the Moroccan red clay that's in the scrub). I stopped using it because of the smell. But if you don't mind the smell, I do think this is a great facial scrub that does, as it says, cleaning out impurities and leaving the skin clear and soft.





Benefit Cosmetics the POREfessional face primer: It wouldn't be a monthly subscription box without one. This primer is much loved for a reason. It reduces the appearance for pores, oil- free and provides a matte base before putting on makeup. I've heard that the NYX's pore filler primer is a drugstore dupe for this if you wanted to spend less money but get the same results. However, I never personally tried the nyx primer so that's a whole other post.





Davines OI All in One Milk: As mentioned from my previous birchbox review, I'm not a big fan of putting product in my hair very often. It's described in the card that this is a "leave-in treatment" that adds "volume, shine, detangling, and heat protection".  I've tried using this product on it's own when my hair was towel dried and just for fun tried to spray some after curling my hair to give it added shine. Overall, this product didn't do much for me. I feel like I was adding unnecessary product for something that my hair didn't need.








The Beauty Crop PBJ Smoothie Stick- Guava Nice Day: I really adore the packaging and appreciate clever puns such as this one. I also love the convenience of chubby lipsticks as in how it doesn't require too much work and is very easy to reapply. The pigmentation is fantastic and give a graceful stain to the lips. It goes on the lips smooth and even though it a bold magenta, it comes off muted and soften berry. Smell is not my favorite  and neither is the color unfortunately. I only seem to wear this when I have it paired up with a deeper berry or mauve color put in the middle. However, I think the product and formulation is great. I'm just not a fan of the color. But hey, maybe I'll eventually branch out of my comfort zone this summer and wear more pinks.







Juliette Has A Gun- Not a Perfume: I saved the best for last. I wouldn't have thought that a perfume sample would be my favorite thing in this box this month. This "perfume" has one single ingredient in it which is Cetalox. This is also allergen free and described as elegant, minmalistic and pur. I'm not a big perfume girl but this is so light and simple but has a little bit of spice to it to give it a little something extra. The only downside is that it lasts for about 5-6 hours. I've gotten so many compliments this month wearing this perfume and I'm considering buying a rollerball to carry in my bag. I'm obsessed with this and I definitely recommend getting a sample from Sephora just to try it out.
Overall not my favorite box this month but I will say that perfume is going to be my staple this spring and summer. Did any of these products in particular caught your interest? Let me know down below♥

May 1, 2016

Battle of the Liners

As much as I love lipsticks, a close second is liner. I still manage to look like I'm 16 at 24 so liner really does help my eye s and perk it up a bit. I remember starting off with the e.l.f Expert Liquid Liner and for a $2 liner (in Target it's a $1) it works fantastically and gives you great control to create the perfect wing. Although the e.l.f one has worked perfectly for me, it doesn't dry down fully matte and you don't get much product so I wanted to branch out to other products and test of their performance. Is it worth the money?



On positive note, all of these liners don't fail in pigmentation. However the performance does differ.

Let's start with my least favorite and make our way towards the top (kind of)



#5 Physicians Formula Eye Booster 2 in 1 Lash Boosting eyeliner and serum:

I bought this on the spur of the moment hoping it would be a dupe for Kat Von D's liner. The pen has a fine tip brush (very similar to the Kat Von D) and gives great control when making a perfected wing. I find that this one doesn't last all day on me and the wings kind of "fly away" (haha I'm so lame). It's more of a liquid-y liner and doesn't dry down fully matte so that may have been the reasons why.

#4 Benefit "They're Real!" Push- Up Liner: Ugh. I have a love/ hate relationship with this product. I love it because it's a gel liner in a pen form but I also hate it for the same reason. The positive points: it's stays on all day and drys down to a matte intense black. However, every time I go to use this, I have to swipe it a couple of times on the back of my hand because it will sometimes be too liquid-y. I also have to swipe it so it lines up perfectly with the angle tip so you're not putting a chunk of gel liner on your lid. I also find it very difficult to make a wing with this liner so I only use this on days when I want it wider on the outer corners. to make my eyes bigger. I really love the look of gel liner but I don't know if it's worth the investment for something that you have to keep wasting product on. For that matter, I rather take more time to actually practice with gel liner.

#3 Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner: This isn't a bad liner. But definitely not my favorite. So let's start with the positives. It has great control and precision to create a wing. Although it does stay on all day, I feel like the black color fades away and sometimes will occasionally feather out with initial application. I'm happy I finally gave this a shot but it's not the liner for me but it might be for others.


Okay so here's my top 2

#2 Jordana Color Stay Envy Liquid Liner:  This might be my favorite drugstore liner ( I think it's around $1.50 but I can only find it on amazon for $6). If you can find this at you're local dollar store, pick it up. This liner is no joke. It gives intense, black color, drys down matte and will not budge. The fine brush tip makes easy wings but the wings won't fade away or smudge off. However, I will say to not pick up the colored ones. I find that those do not off the same pigmentation as the black liner and you would have to keep going back over the color. Overall, this product is a major win especially with the price tag!

#1 Kat Von D Tattoo Liner:  I think this liner is worth the hype. It has everything you want from a black liner. The only downside is that hefty price tag ($19). But I love how easy the application of this liner is but how it makes it look like you've done more work than you actually did. I feel like the brush tip gives great precision for wings and getting close to the lash line whether you want it to be a thick or thin line. I wish I didn't like this as much as I did, but hey it happens right?

Honorable Mentions (for the non liquid liners):

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Liner:  I seriously want to collect these like they're candy. These are incredible. They do not budge but it does give you enough time to smudge it out. I'm so intrigued to try the rest of the colors in the collection now.

midnight bue// jade


Of course there's other great liners out there. So what are your favorites? Anyone drugstore hidden gems that I should know about?