January 2016: Ipsy Bag

This month's ipsy theme is "All Eyes On You" and I received the following five products: Beau Gâchis® Paris Smudge Brush, Mitchell and Peach English Leaf Body Cream, theBalm Cosmetics Mr Write (Now), Marsk Mineral Eyeshadow, and Pur~lisse Blue Lotus 4-in-1 Eye Adore Serum.

 

 

Mitchell and Peach English Leaf Body Cream: This is a fairly moisturizing body cream that sinks right into the skin within seconds of applying it; and contains some really good ingredients like sweet almond oil, sweet orange oil, basil oil, vitamin E, lavender oil, cedarwood oil, peppermint oil, etc. To me it smells like grass or leafs, which is actually true to the description at the back that says "blended with a bright 'green floral' scent inspired by green countryside". So, overall it is a decent product.  

 

Gâchis® Paris Smudge Brush: This is definitely not a smudge brush, and it's too big for even being a blending brush. It is very round and full because the barrel that holds the bristles is completely round and not pinched in at all,  so I am not really sure how I will use it. Ipsy has actually suggested to use it for blending gel or other liners, but it is too big for that. The bristles are not extremely soft so it holds its shape and is not flimsy. I looked up on the company's website and it retails for $12 USD (on sale now for $10 USD); it is handcrafted using both animal and synthetic hair. But overall, I did not like it because for me it is very close to the size of my under eye concealer brush.

 

 

Marsk Mineral Eyeshadow in You're Toast: At first I was really disappointed that I received another mineral shadow because I don't like using loose powders, but I think I will be using this one because its really beautiful. You're Toast is a gorgeous peachy rose gold shade, and is perfect for natural but bright everyday look.

 

 

theBalm Mr. Write (Now) Eyeliner Pencil in Jac: This is one of the creamiest and softest eyeliner pencils that I have ever tried. It literally feels like butter. The shade Jac is bronzy but with very subtle olive undertone. It has amazing staying power, and it does not move at all once it sets. I tried rubbing it off as hard as I could but it did not budge whatsoever. So, I am definitely going to try more colors from this line.

 

Pur~lisse Blue Lotus 4-in-1 Eye Adore Serum: I haven't tried this yet, but I have admit that this is the most generous eye cream sample (7ml)  that I have ever received, considering that the full size is only 15ml and retails for $65 USD.

 

Overall, it was a decent Ipsy bag this month.

 

What did you get in your  bag? What was your favorite product?

 

Thank you for taking time to read this post. Hope you have a great day!

 

December 2015: Ipsy Bag

Once again I received my ipsy bag at the end of the month. I am not sure what's causing the delay because I have been a subscriber for almost 3 years and never had this issue.  But anyways, this month I received the following five products: Pacifica Power of Love Natural Lipstick, Be A Bombshell Mechanical Eyeliner, Marc Anthony Deep Conditioning Treatment, RickyCare 3D Blender, ModelCo Lip Liner.

 

 

RickyCare by Ricky's NYC 3D Blender: When I first took it out of the packet and washed it, I did not like it at all because it felt rubbery and slippery like those traditional makeup wedges.  It is not light and airy so does not bounce back to its shape like beauty blender, and retains the impression for a few seconds before going back to its normal shape. Also, it holds the water inside and shrinks in size on losing the excess water. However, it works. I used it with a light weight foundation and it blended well so I am definitely going to use it and keep the beauty blender for special occasions.

 

Marc Anthony Coconut Oil and Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Treatment: I haven't used it yet but Marc Anthony products are usually nice so I am hoping for the best.

 

ModelCo Illusion Lip Liner & Be A Bombshell Mechanical Eye Liner

 

ModelCo Lip Enhancer Illusion Lip Liner: From the packaging I thought this is going to be a beautiful vibrant pink liner but it is actually a pinky nude. It is just an average liner, and feels a bit drying.

 

Be A Bombshell Mechanical Eye Liner: This is my least favorite product from the bag. It lacks pigmentation, so requires a lot of work to build up the color but disappears in a single swipe. And its not just this liner that is below average in quality but almost all the products from this brand that I have tried through ipsy are same.



Nudie Red



Nudie Red & Tender Heart



Pacifica Power of Love Natural Lipstick in Nudie Red: This feels more like a balm than a lipstick because it is moisturizing, light weight and sheer. The shade nudie red is nude with reddish pinky hues and comes across as peachy. I have compared it with the shade called Tender Hearts from the same line and they look almost alike except that the latter is a tad bit browny.

 

 

 

Em Michelle Phan Shade Play Eye Color Palette in Bali Bronzes: This was a surprise product and I honestly thought that I received it by mistake, but then later found out that all the long term members have been sent different versions of this palette. The packaging is beautiful, the display is pretty but I feel the shadows are not up to the par. The very light gold does not show up and is not even visible in the picture. The three mid toned shades are nice but the two darker ones lack pigmentation. Also, all the shades are shimmery and very similar to each other. So, overall it is not a palette that can be used on its own as it does not have enough color and texture differentiation.

 

What did you get in your ipsy bag this month? What was your favourite product?

 

Thank you for taking time to read this post. Hope you have a great day!

 

 

 

Products I Regret Buying: Eyeshadows

This post is all about the eyeshadows that I regret buying. But before I begin, I would like to clarify that even though these products did not work for me, I am not trashing them in any way. If you have any tips or tricks to make these work, please leave them in the comments below. Also, since its already clear that I don't like these products, so I am gonna keep it short and sweet :)

 

So, lets get started...

 

Yves Rocher Quad Eyeshadow in 06 Brun Incandescent: This sumptuous color quad comes in beautiful rose gold packaging with a nice mirror and an instructions card. However, it lacks pigmentation and especially the two mid-toned shades barely show up on my skin. Retails for $20 CAD but is always on sale for $10.                                     

 

 

 

 

Rimmel London Eyeshadow Quad in 002 Smoky Brun: I bought it because everyone on youtube raved about it. However, the two lighter shades of the quad are almost invisible on my lids so I don't use it.

 

 

Shade placement in the quad is as follows: left, right, bottom, top

 

Yves Rocher Duo Eyeshadow in 23 Mauve et Kaki: The olive green shade is really nice and smooth, however, the cool toned purple that makes 2/3 of the palette is chalky and doesn't apply evenly. Also, the silver glitter kind of dilutes the purple and makes it appear more silvery.

 

 

 

Jesse's Girl Mineralized Baked Powder Eyeshadow in Graphite Frost: Looks beautiful in the pan but doesn't show up on the skin at all.  

 

 

Laura Mercier Eye Color Duo in Violet: This is a discontinued product which can still be found on some online websites. The dark plum shade has no pigmentation whatsoever. The swatch below has been done with several swipes back and forth. So, I would not recommend buying it even if it is insanely discounted.

 

 

 

Pacifica Natural beauty Duo 2: The packaging is kinda flimsy and the clear plastic lid separates from the base sometimes, which resulted in the damage that you can see in the picture below. But the main issue is the quality of the shadows. The purple lacks pigmentation while the gold looks uneven when applied.

 

 

 

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Painted Purple: I have several other colors from this line and they all work well, however, this particular one lacks the color intensity and looks patchy on application.

 

 

 

So, these are the few eyeshadows that did not work for me. I will share the face products I regret buying in an upcoming post. Also, you can click on the "regrets" in the labels below to check out my past makeup, hair and skincare regrets.

 

Have you used any of these products? Did they work for you? Do you have any tips?

 

Thank you for taking time to read this post. Have a great day!

December 2015: Julep Maven All That Glitters Overview

I have been a Julep maven for about two years. Its a great service with free shipping and new colors every month. This months theme was All That Glitters and I got the IT girl box. It came with three nail colors and a cinnamon flavored candy cane along with a coupon for free nail polish.

 

Chrissy, Beatrice and Omelia

 

Chrissy: Beautiful creamy green shade that leans a little bit towards teal. UPDATE: This polish stains both the skin and the nails really really bad during the removal process. Even repeated washing with soap didn't get the color off my skin. I will never use it again. I will share the pictures in an upcoming post.

 

Beatrice: Shimmery gold with a hint of copper. Its a difficult to define kind of shade so I may be wrong but to me it looks like the liquid form of Becca Jacyln Hill Highlighter.

 

Omelia: This is a special edition 2015 wonder maven polish. It's purple with tiny pink sparkles in it.

 

On the first look I thought I already have these shades in my collection so I have done a brief comparison.

 

Omelia (bottom) and Barbara (top)

 Barbara is a lot more pink while Omelia is purple.

 

Chrissy and Emilie

 

Chrissy and Emilie

 Emilie is true leafy green shade while Chrissy has some bluish undertones to it, which makes it look a little bit teal when placed close to a true green.

 



Sienna and Beatrice

Beatrice has a lot more copper to it while Sienna is more of a cool toned silvery gold. Also, Sienna has a creamy and smooth texture while Beatrice has some finely milled glitter.

 

What did you get in your Julep maven box this month? What do you think about Julep polishes in general?  Also, do you have any thoughts on Julep matte lipsticks because I really want to try them.

 

Thank you for taking time to read this post. Hope you have a wonderful day.