Maybelline - The Nudes

I was really excited to see Maybelline come out with what looks like their version of the Urban Decay Naked Palette but sadly I've been really disappointed with this purchase. Although this palette is a new release and has classy packaging with great colour selection, the eyeshadow formulas seem to be exactly the same as the ones they used to have in their eyeshadow quads.

 I read that these were extremely pigmented and good dupes for the original Urban Decay Naked palette but only one colour in this palette has great pigmentation (the shimmery bronze on the first row). Otherwise the black shade has decent, medium-level pigmentation and everything else is powdery and sheer.
 

It was actually pretty difficult to get the colours to show up on the swatch above. For many of the lighter colours I had to layer them quite a few times for them to appear. I actually think this palette has some great colours but their consistency is just far too sheer. If you're looking for some light neutrals to blend with, this palette would be perfect. I found it really hard to create a smokey eye with these shades because of how much I need to layer it for that colour payoff. On the other hand, their dry texture also minimizes fallout so this palette might be a good fit for anyone who wants to create a really natural look. The matte colours might prove to be great for contouring, I actually use one of the older maybelline nude eyeshadow quads as a eyebrow powder because its sheerness makes it difficult for me to accidentally overdo my brows.




To sum it up, I find this to be just Maybelline's old eyeshadows put together in a new package. Low pigmentation and a powdery finish on most colours with one vibrant bronze shade. Great transition/blending colours but not the best eyeshadows for a smokey eye look.

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NYX - I Dream of Jamaica

NYX The Caribbean Collection 5 Color Eyeshadow
I Dream of Jamaica

-  NYX generally has quite a good reputation for eyeshadows so I decided to give this neutral, cool toned palette a try. I've found that the pigmentation is at a medium level, not very strong so it's optimal if you just wanted a light wash of colour. Of the 5 colours the ones I've reached for the most are the two highlighting colours (the pale pink and the white) because I like how the shimmer gives it a faint satin finish thats not too strong.

Swatches in sunlight, no photo retouching.

This palette is great for a cool toned smokey eye because the grey shade (second to the right) has a really sheer finish that's easy to blend and the lavender shade (in the middle) adds a nice hint of colour. Before I made this purchase I browsed through reviews on makeupalley and most people were describing the eyeshadows as buttery and creamy but I've actually found this palette quite powdery, especially compared to how creamy the Urban Decay Naked palettes are. I think that  its powdery consistency does help with minimizing fallout  but just doesn't make it the greatest when it comes to its pigmentation.

Overall: 7/10

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Nyx Round Lipsticks

  

Overall Rating: 10/10

These are my favourite lipsticks so far and they are cheap! The NYX location I got this from was at Surrey Central where they sell them for $4.99 each but you can get them online for as low was $2. Most drugstore/inexpensive lip colour brands have a very low range of colours that are mostly bright, vibrant red, pinks and purples but NYX has a huge selection of nude lipstick and wearable everyday colours. They all apply smoothly, are well pigmented and the packaging is sleek. Such a steal.

(swatches on my hand)

590 Honey - A great nude lipstick if you have pale skin. There are less pink/red tones than Circle so this shade can give you concealer lips. What I like to do is apply a very thin layer so some of natural lip colour peaks through and it ends up looking natural and pretty.

522 Circe  – My favourite of the bunch, no conceal lips. Slight pink tones that help it look more natural.

617 Summer Love – The most flattering nude-pink lipstick that I’ve found so far. (Keep in mind I haven’t tried that many) The thing is that this shade is kind of frosty so it still not very natural.    

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removing pillings

These are a thick pair of leggings I got impulsively in New York when it turned out to be a lot colder there than I expected back in March. I bought them in Chinatown NY (we were there for food, Kathy’s Dumpling House – best wontons ever -  and I got these ‘cause we’d be staying late and it’d get even colder) and quality wise their fine except they pill really easily. A few weeks ago at daiso I bought a small electric pill remover ($2), you can get pill removers/fabric combs/fabric savers at most supermarkets, fabric stores and home supply stores.

This is what my $2 daiso one looks like 

and I love it. Its amazing. A total life clothing saver. Just look

ALL GONE!

Its all trapped in here now.

I’m so glad I bought this, I just found out that pilling was removable last month and had been looking at different pilling removers/fabric savers online. I was going to get the fabric stone but I bought this basically because it was $2 and I thought it’d be worth a try, it works so much better than I’d expected! Its saving me so many of my sweaters that I’d though I’d never wear again because they had pilled so badly.

I’ve used this a few times now and I make sure to give it breaks after a few seconds, the thing about cheap electronics like this is that you have to worry about the motor dying out. You can also use a (new) shaving razor (preferably 1 blade, the less blades the less likely you’ll accidentally cut the fabric)  to get rid of pilling and fabric fuzz. It takes forever though and I’ve cut holes my clothes accidentally with it. . 

The one I used was from the dollar store, 3 blades, sharp enough to cut holes in the fabric, not sharp enough to get rid of the pillings/fuzz in less than a dozen swipes.  It works, its just not efficient.

The Pilling remover from Daiso has not cut any of my clothes so far in my experience, I’ve even used it over stitching and designs (like the shiny zebra design on the leggings pictures above) and its been fine. It removes pillings like a dream but its not that great with removing the fuzz from knit sweaters (scarves, etc.). Still I love it, $2 really well spent. 

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Biotherm biopur pore reducer

This is a moisturizer I’ve finished recently and have put off reviewing for a while because my opinion on skin care products takes a while to develop. At first I’m excited to try it out and it seems amazing but if I still like it by the time the bottle is empty, then I know its a great product. If I remember correctly I believe this was $45 for 50ml, I got some samples of other Biotherm creams with it. 

It claims to  “refining the skin's texture”, tighten pores and keep the skin matte with PORE INSIDE™ technology and ingredients such as a natural soap, astringent Copper, oil-regulating Zinc, and mattifying Starch. They instruct to use this as a day and night moisturizer and it contains no SPF.

The ingredient list on the website isn’t complete so here is the list of everything that’s in it.

Generally this cream was OK, it’s lightweight enough that I could layer sunscreen (Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunscreen) and foundation on top of it and it didn’t make my face shiny (although my face’s natural oil will make it shiny in a few hours) but the fancy technology and ingredients it claims to have didn’t do much better than Neutrogena’s Oil Free Fresh Moisture Moisturizer. No “oil regulation”, no smaller looking pores. For $45 it contains a lot of the same ingredients that $10 drugstore moisturizers have such as, salicylic acid, glycerin, aqua (water – as its first ingredient), sodium hydroxide, aluminum starch octenylsuccinate, fragrance (it had a light scent)  and witch hazel. The ingredients are similar and the effects are similar. It does have better packaging, the pump dispenser is great and its in a glass bottle.

In all, a nice moisturizer, not a fantastic one, but not one that I want to get more of now that the bottle’s empty. I’ll be looking for moisturizer with more antioxidants next. 

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Jane be pure mineral lip balm

Overall: 4/5
Shade: White Pearl 01

This lip balm smells amazing, its scent is my favourite thing about it! It smells like vanilla and isn't overwhelmingly sweet.  It smells “pure”. I’d love it if someone would make this scent into a body spray or perfume, its exactly how I want to smell like! The lip balm itself is really soft, if you’ve ever tried a Burt's Bees lip balm you’d know how hard they are and how they go on very thin. This one slides on a lot easier and goes on thicker. Its smoother and feels a bit greasy.  Its twist tube packaging isn’t the best for for the product’s consistency, it tends to melt and so when you twist it, it doesn’t get more product out. If you live in an area with a warm climate, this melts really easily and will probably turn into a mess for you. The packaging is also really easy to take/fall apart, I think this would have been much better in a mini jar. Although the balm has colour, its very sheer and doesn’t make a noticeable difference. I like this lip balm, but its not a must and I don’t think I’d repurchase it because there are just so many others to try.

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l’oreal voluminous mascara

Overall Rating: 9/10

This is a very hyped mascara that’s been around for quite a while now and known to be a lot of people’s HG mascara and I can see why. It’s inexpensive, its accessible and it has classy packaging. It adds volume and length better than most mascaras I’ve tried but it’s not as thickening as I’ve heard it to be. When I first used this I was pretty disappointed and I thought I might have bought a defective one because it seemed already quite dry. (However it didn’t flake so I think that I got a normal one.) The best mascara I’ve ever tried for fat lashes is Lancome Fatale, it did clump but it got me really thick lashes.  This mascara reminds me a lot of Prestige’s My Blackest Lashes (reviewed here), My Blackest Lashes was wetter but got the same volume as Voluminous gives me and neither holds a curl (I have medium length, straight, stubborn black lashes). This one does curl my lashes slight when I apply  it but it doesn’t last.  Also a problem I’ve been having with most non-waterproof mascaras in general is that it tends to smudge onto the outer corners of my under eye. When I yawn my eyes water and some of that water accumulates into the ends of my eye, touches the lashes and viola, a black streak. This one seems to smudge more severely, maybe just because the formula’s thicker but next time I’m getting the waterproof version. Even so, I still think this mascara is perfect for volumizing the lashes without clumping for an everyday look.

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stila lip glaze

Shade: Grapefruit 07
Overall Rating: 6.5/10

I’m not an avid lip-gloss wearer and this hasn’t changed me into one. These I believe are one of Stila’s most popular products, the twist dispenser and brush applicator  have made it a lot of people’s favourites but don’t appeal to me. Product gets stuck in the bristles of the plastic brush and if you don’t use this very often like me (if you like to switch lip glosses day to day or don’t wear gloss daily) the old gloss stays on the brush and starts to clot. The next time you use it you’ll have to deal with the  glob of  thickened old product before the new gloss pushes through.  This wastes product and if you can see in the first photo, there isn’t a lot of gloss to begin with.

The twist applicator pushes product out, good so that gloss doesn’t get stuck on the rims but I expect that its not going to be able to get that last bit out. With normal lip glosses you can put the tube in some hot water to melt the product off the sides so you can use it but I don’t think that method would work with this.  

The gloss itself is sheer, has a hint of shimmer after application and is pretty! Its a nice lip gloss, the packaging design makes it stand out from most, but this isn’t a HG for me. If you want to try out this kind of packaging there’s also E.L.F.’s Hypershine lip glosses that are $1 at Target in the US. 

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cover girl eye enhancer in dynamite drama

 

Product Name: Cover Girl Eye Enhancers Quad
Shade: Dynamite Drama #223

These eye shadows are super affordable, I think their around $6 CAD at drugstores but out of the 4 colors  they hold, only two of them actually show up.

The maroon color is the most pigmented, looks almost brown but does have that red undertone. Personally I don’t like that because red around the eyes can make the eyes look irritated and I have cool toned pale skin so it shows up too bright on me. The gold is very pretty but is very, very sheer. Its nice to use as a color to dust over another shade to add gold sparks to it because it wont change the color of the other shadow but it does not show up on its own very well.
The white is the second most pigmented color, I like using it as a highlight because it doesn’t come on too strong. If you look at the photos the white really reflected the flash, not just because of its color but it has nice shimmer too.
The green is the least pigmented in the quad, it looks like such a nice color in the quad but it doesn’t come out. I’ve tried layering it but it still just comes out as a tiny hint of color. You could try applying it wet or with primer, that might intensify the color.

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nivea rich regenerating night care

i bought this because i really liked Nivea creme, it was too greasy and thick for me but it really made my skin super soft.  I have oily/combination (in the winter) skin but I bought the sensitive skin one because I was thinking that the sensitive skin formula would make my skin softer. As it turns out, over moisturizing doesn't do your skin any good. As your skin doesn't absorb it, it sits on top and can make your skin look dull. The thing about this product is that it's less thick than Nivea creme but it has the consistency of butter at room temperature. Its easy to spread and smooth but greasy and in fact, one of its main ingredients is hydrogenated vegetable oil (margarine).  A little does goes a long way and although its only 48 grams of product this will probably last you a year.

I know someone who has really sensitive skin, she was born with enzyme and this is one of the only creams she doesn't react to. this has been working for her however it does list fragrance and cetyl alcohol ingredients. Personally, I didn't really like it because it made my face feel greasy after i applied it and other than moisturizing it doesn't really give any other benefits. There's no antioxidants or BHA or AHA exfoliating ingredients and it also didn't make make my skin as soft as nivea creme. 
The glass packaging is nice but jar packaging isn't as sanitary as a pump bottle and environmental wise the glass jar is thicker than it needs to be making it a bit wasteful.

bottom line: this isn't a face cream i'd go back to, its OK but nothing special.


EDIT: this post was originally posted on Wednesday, somehow blogger accidentally set it on private and deleted all the comments.

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almay smart shade makeup

Almay has a new version of this called “Smart Shade Balance” that I haven’t tried, this is the older version. Its a pretty cool idea, It comes out as a greyish-ivory liquid with black beads that slowly disappear as you rub it out and it “changes” into your skin tone.

Ta-Da! This is what the formula looks like, straight out of the tube.

Coverage is very, very light you really can’t tell that its there. I don’t believe it transforms specifically into your skin tone though, I mean really, how can it sense that? Plus, there was some product that was left on the tube, which is white and it still dried to a beige color.

(It photographed darker than in real life)
If the formula was really selective to the shade of skin, how come it dried to beige even though its never been in contact with skin?

Therefore I conclude that it doesn’t transform into your skin tone, it just dries into the shade that you selected (light, medium, etc.) and because the coverage is so light, it looks like your skin color. My pet peeve about tinted moisturizers or very light coverage foundations is that you could just buy a full coverage foundation, for the same price, and use less of it or mix it with your own moisturizer to make a low coverage foundation. Full coverage foundations can be used as concealer too , so why buy a light coverage one?

I’m not sure what they changed in their new version. I think “Balance” was added because while I was using this version I wondered since foundation is used to even out skin tone, if this transforms into the tone of the area you apply it to and that area happens to be slightly darker or lighter than the rest of your face or if it “converts” shade as you spread it wouldn’t it just change into the shade of your dark spots at your dark spots and your skin would look exactly the same? What I did was I swirled it around my cheeks until it changed color and then I spread it out. Problem is it really didn’t make a difference, I tried applying it to one side of my face and not the other and by afternoon I had forgotten which side had this foundation and which side didn’t and I couldn’t tell which side did. There was no different of side, no extra oil control, nothing that I could tell. The only plus for this is that it has SPF 15. Other than that, it doesn’t do much of anything in my opinion, I hope the new one is better but unless it really is I’d say try something else. 

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aerie kiss water gloss

This gloss isn't very shiny but it has a lot of shimmer and it goes on pretty thin. Personally I don't like wearing thick glosses because they feel so heavy that it bothers me. Its slightly more pigmented than than most glosses but still goes on fairly sheer. The colour doesn't really show, both colours actually make my lips look more or less the same, but there is definitely a lot of shimmer. The shimmer is more apparent in the purple shade because the gold it contrasts with the colour of the gloss more.

"coral" is slightly pinker in real life

this shade is less redish and less vibrant in real life

The scents that they have are very sweet, like candy lollipops.  They both smell very similar to me because the sweetness covers up any hints of different "flavors" but the scent fades very quickly so that may be also why I can't tell the difference.  What I have noticed is that they taste sweet too! Most of the glosses I've tried smell good but don't taste like anything or are slightly bitter, which is something I've noticed at lunch while wearing them.

I buy lip glosses based on their packaging, I don't really like wearing them I just like getting them because their pretty. Also in Vancouver there's so much wind here that wearing lip gloss out would have a whole head of hair stuck on your lips in half a minute. I think this is another product that's alight but not fantastic, I don't want to buy it again but I don't regret purchasing it either. 

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maybelline mineral power foundation

overall 9/10
for the last few weeks this has been on my face a lot! it applies really well, its nice and light but has great coverage and matches my skin tone. this is a product i'm really sorry to be saying goodbye too, i picked this up around January when London Drugs said it was being discontinued and had it on sale for $7 (reg. $14CAD). its such a shame! that was the first time i bought this and i wish i bought more. i really like this foundation, i have it in Light 0 which is the lightest shade. it's warm-toned and seems to have slight yellow undertones which makes it a great match for my asian skin.
i'd say it gives medium coverage, i know people say that rimmel's lasting finish foundation is full coverage but i think this has more coverage and definitely beats them in their shade selection. 


it's packaged in a squeeze bottle which is more a lot more precise than the tube bottles a lot of foundations are in but squeeze too hard and oops you've got too much product. really would prefer a nice pump bottle. that's my only complaint.

i've been using this as concealer too, it layers alright but it takes time to set so you have to wait for quite a bit before reapplying or you'll just move it all around. i've used it on my under-eyes to prep them for concealer and to conceal redness which this is amazing for because it blends so well and is so light. a lot of the foundations and concealers i've tried sort of "settle around" the little bumps around my t-zone and get really cakey when i try to hide blemishes underneath them but this hasn't done, it just covers smoothly. there's also has spf 18, which should be enough for cloudy winter months, and spf is always a plus.  

you do need to moisturize well before using this or mix some face lotion with it, i have a friend with slightly dry skin and when she used this it brought out her flakiness, because i have oily skin and it has a soft matte finish, this works well for me.

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elf professional total face brush

overall rating: 6/10
the biggest pro for this brush is that it's real cheap, i got this for $1.25 or $1.50 or something like that a few months ago when the dollarama at metrowtown had a whole bunch elf face brushes (i think they still have the bronzer brushes) and the eyeshadow brush.  i kicked myself for not getting the eyeshadow brush after i heard that they were actually pretty decent. this one however, while being big and fluffy and so far i haven't had problems with shedding but is too hard and scratchy. because the bristles are tough they pick up stuff alright but it doesn't spread it as well. the reviews on mua says it starts shedding after you wash it a few times but i think if you're careful and just use water/cleanser on the end of the bristles and not at the roots where the glue is, it should hold together for a while.


a close up shot of the bristles. they're rough but this is still probably the best face brush you can get for around $1, i guess its not bad to try out, especially if you're getting started with face makeup, but you'll probably end up buying another brush anyways so i'd say its better to skip it and get a brush from ecotools or the e.l.f. studio line. it'd be more environmentally and economically efficient. 

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sally hansen lipstick in baby pink

Sally Hansen Natural Beauty inspired by Carmindy color comfort lipcolor lipstick
shade: Baby Pink
this is a very creamy lipstick and due to its consistency it does transfer easily and isn't very long lasting. because of this its great to use as a blush because its easy to spread (careful with oily skin though, might break you out, prefect for dry skin!)

as a lipstick, i haven't really liked this, i really wanted to (i actually won this in a giveaway,  the only giveaway i've won, from kati at themakeupdrawer - check her out, she's awesome! - ) but i've never worn this out because unfortunately, this shade did not clash well with my skin tone. it looked very unnaturally pink, disappointing considering the product's name includes "natural beauty" and "color comfort". in lipstick form it looks like a rosy, and a bit pale, wearable pink but it goes on a strong, bright pink once worn.

here's what it looks like on my lips. the colour is unphotoshopped but i cropped out my skin so you can see the lipstick's colour on its own and decided how you like it from there.  it looks a lot less bright after i cropped out my skin. i wasn't wearing any other lip products, i didn't blot it with a tissue, and the photo was taken with flash.

as a blush though, if i dab a little bit on my cheeks and blend it out, its nice and moisturizing and provides a pretty sheer wash of color that looks natural enough. the packaging is good quality and it has a sort of design you'd might expect from the body shop. 

& so those are my thoughts on this lipstick
since its valentines day soon i decided to do a lipstick review. i hope all of you have a special someone to kiss on the 14th!  but if you don't...



like joseph gordon levitt. wait no, he's mine!


wishing everyone a happy valentines day ~

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