Parissa Mini Wax Strips for Brows

Recently, I saw a couple of YouTubers mention Parissa Mini Wax Strips for brows, but I wasn't convinced as I have tried the Ready to Use wax strips by brands like Nair etc. and they didn't do anything. So, I searched for more reviews and found 80% of them pretty positive. Therefore, I went ahead and bought these for $8.47 + taxes from Wal-Mart.

  

Packaging: Its an okay packaging, just like other wax strips, but in general I find these boxes to be too big to hold tiny strips. There are 16 double sided strips so they are good for 32 uses.

 

Ease of Use & Instructions: The brow strips are quite small so the chances of messing up or taking off extra hair are minimal. Also, they provided step by step instructions to avoid any confusion.



The dark reddish brown bruish that looks like a shadow is due to these wax strips.

 Performance: It sucks! Firstly, I didn't notice much difference before and after using the strip.  Secondly, it bruised my skin so badly that it was hurting even with slight movement of forehead. I am really bummed because the picture is not doing the justice as it was really difficult to hold the camera so close and focus. Also, even though one pack is good for 32 uses, multiple strips are required to wax both the brows, so they won't last very long. I find TiGi microwavable wax from Sally Beauty Supply Store far better than this one, but I don't use it because of the mess that it leaves behind.

 



 

Azulene Oil: The waxing strips come with 8ml azulene oil to calm and soothe the skin after waxing. It is also sold separately in 60 ml bottles. But as the wax stripped off my skin so the oil didn't do much.



 

How do you groom your eyebrows? Have you tried these or any other form of brow wax strips? Do you have any favorites? 

 

 

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

Stila Eyeshadow Trios

I bought these trios a while ago but never gave much thought to the differences between them. But recently, I noticed that for some reason whenever I use these I always skip one particular trio. Therefore, after swatching all of them together I have come to the conclusion that the formula and the pigmentation is not consistent. However, all three of them come in similar coppery metallic packaging which is really nice and sturdy. The lid comes right off which may bother some people but I like it. Also, they are really easy to depot as they have a similar system as the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes in the sense that, there is a little hole at the bottom from where the eye shadow can be popped out using a pointed tool. 

Clockwise from bottom: Bronze Glow, Champagne Glow/ Rose Gold, Gold Glow

 

The first trio that I bought was champagne glow, and I was so impressed with the overall product that I bought the other two on my next trip to Sephora.

Champange Glow/ Rose Gold: This is hands down my favorite trio out of the three. It has taupe, burgundy brown and champagne shade. The three shades go very well together and are perfect for a regular day time look.  Also, the colors are really pigmented and smooth, they go on very nicely in just one swipe. If anyone wants to pick just one of these then I would highly recommend picking up this shade. However, I am really confused about its name because the one I have is labelled as Champagne Glow (which I bought from the Sephora store) while on the Sephora website, it is called Rose Gold. Did they change the name for some reason? If they did, then it doesn't really suit because there isn't a rose gold shade in it.

Gold Glow: This is my second favorite and contains gold, bronze and ivory shade. All three shades are quite shimmery with very smooth formula. The pigmentation and consistency is also really nice. This trio reminds me of holiday season and that is when I am going to use it the most. The gold shade is very similar to the UD Half Baked, if not an exact dupe. I find the Stila shade to be more of a true gold than UD. I also compared it with Gold from Lorac Pro Palette, which looks a lot more pinkish copper in front of the gold from this trio. I did take the comparison picture but accidentally deleted it, but will upload another one soon.

Bronze Glow: This is one of my least favorite in terms of both the consistency and the colors. It has rose, gold bronze and ivory shade. And I think this one should be called Rose Gold instead of the Champagne Glow. The texture of this trio is just not the same as the other two. The shadows need multiple swipes to attain the shown swatches. The first shade has a lot of fallout, the second one lacks appropriate pigmentation but is  much better than the lightest shade which is nothing more than splotchy chunky shimmer. Therefore, out of the three, this is the one trio that I would not recommend. 

  

Have you tried these trios? Which one is you favorite? Do you have any similar product recommendations?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

Jordana Overview & Revlon Balm Stain Honey Dupe

Jordana products have been in the market for a while but recently I have noticed a lot more buzz about them. It is a super inexpensive brand with some great products. Jordana is actually a family owned business based in Los Angeles, California. The only downfall is that I haven't been able to find Jordana items in any of the local Canadian stores so far. However, since I do a lot of online shopping so I am okay with it. In order to get a fair idea I picked up products from three main makeup categories i.e. eyes, lips and face. 

P.S. I apologize for the splotchy pictures, the actual copies are perfectly clear. I am not sure what went wrong with the uploading. I even tried to remove and upload again a couple of times but nothing worked. So really sorry about it. 

I bought all the stuff from the BeautyJoint website. When they first started the business their prices were relatively lower than any other online store, but now their isn't any noticeable difference. 

Above: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey; Below: Jordana Twist & Shine in Honey Love

Jordana Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain in Honey Love: As the name suggests, the product comes in a twist up tube and provides moisture along with shine. Not just the packaging but the formula and the actual product is very reminiscent of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. However, I didn't know that even the colors that I own are same until I swatched them side to side for this post. 

Left: Jordana in Honey Love; Right: Revlon in Honey

The only difference I noticed is that the Revlon one takes a couple of strikes to attain the same color as Jordana. Other than that, it is very difficult to tell them apart. May be I am wrong  but I don't think that such similarity in the names (Jordana Honey Love and Revlon Honey) is any coincidence.  

Left Stain: Jordana; Right Stain: Revlon

As you can see the above picture, both of them leave a stain behind and surprisingly the intensity of the stain is also same. However, the Revlon Balm Stain retails for around $8.99 while Jordana retails for $3.49 for the same amount of product. If I am not wrong then Revlon Balm Stain comes in 12 different shades while Jordana has only 8 shades so far. 

Brown/Eye Shadow Powder in Brown: I really wanted to try their eye shadow but it was really difficult to pick one online due to the lack of swatches so I went with a very safe brown shade. The one I got is from their brow/eyeshadow line which retails for $1.99 and has 6 shades. I absolutely love this product and have been  using it since the day I received it in the mail. It is very pigmented cool toned true brown shade, so a little bit with a flat liner brush is enough to give a groomed look to the eyebrows. And for me, it is one of the must  have items from Jordana. 

Above: Covergirl Smoochies Lip Balm in Luv U; Below: Jordana  

Jordana Easy Shine Glossy Lip Color in Raspberry: This is a pigmented and moisturizing cool toned true pink color. It has a very strong fruity smell, which isn't bothersome to me. When I bought it, I thought it will be somewhat similar to the new Covergirl Smoochies (because of the similar packaging), but it isn't as it is a lot more pigmented than the smoochies. However, it should be noted that the Covergirl Smoochies is marketed as a lip balm so they are more comparable to Maybelline Baby Lips. And now when I am thinking about it I should have compared it to the pink baby lips instead of Covergirl Smoochies. 

Left: Jordana Easy Shine in Raspberry; Right: Covergirl Smoochies in Luv U

The easy shine costs $2.09 (1.9g) while smoochies is around $4.99 or above (4g) and both come in 12 different shades.

Jordana Fabuliner in Brown

Jordana Fabuliner in Brown: I also had this liner in Black but I threw it away because I didn't like it. Even the brown shade looks like black and I feel it should be named Black Brown instead of just Brown. I agree that it is super inexpensive ($2.99) with great pigmentation but it lacks severely on the lasting power. At least in my case, it didn't last through the day. I found that on humid days it creased and traveled all over and under my eyes while on dry and cold days it flaked resulting in missing patches. So, for me it is only good for short grocery trips. 

Jordana Blush in Touch of Pink

Jordana Powder Blush in Touch of Pink: Recently, everyone and their mother is raving about these blushes, so I thought of giving them a try. I wanted to order more but I ended up with just one. These blushes come in a lot of different shades so there is something for everyone. Also, they retail for just $2.49 for 2.2g. The powder is nice and soft with great pigmentation. However, since the blush is really soft so there is some fall out. 

I heard a lot of people saying that the packaging is very unique, however, that's not true since La Femme blushes have exact same screw cap packaging. However, La Femme's cap is all plastic so mine has already cracked but Jordana has used nicer material so it is quite sturdy. 

Left: Jordana Touch of Pink; Right: Mac Pinch O'Peach

For the color, Touch of Pink is a true peach with a very slight hint of pink. The name of this blush reminded me of Mac Pinch O'Peach. Just like Jordana is called Touch of Pink but is actually a Peach with very little pink, Mac Pinch O'Peach is a Pink with very little peach.  I know this comparison was irrelevant but I just found it very interesting. 

Left: Jordana Touch of Pink; Right: Mac Pinch O'Peach

Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara: This mascara is one of the most raved about products from this line. However, I can't say much about it yet because I haven't tried it as I am working on the ones that are already open. But I'll post an update after I have formed an opinion about it. 

Jordana Color Extend Lip Liner: Last but not least, I also bought some lip liners which I completely forgot about and that is why they are not in the first shot. These liners are marketed as all day wear and waterproof. And they are not kidding, these are seriously waterproof. After I swatched them, even rigorous rubbing wasn't able to budge them. It took me some effort to take them off with soap and water. So these are super long lasting. However, I can't find them on the website anymore so I am not sure if they are discontinued or just not available on this particular website. 

Keep on Violet: A very dark plumy purple. 

Espresso Delay: A very soft brown. 

Reach for Java: A true dark chocolate brown, which looks more like an eye liner than a lip liner. 

I bought these for $0.79 each, however, I am not so fond of the colors. Especially the dark chocolate brown isn't my style. If I had seen the shades in person I probably wouldn't have bought the browns. 

Have you tried any Jordana Products? Which ones are your favorite? Where do you usually buy them?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

Mini Haul & Website Comparision

This post is about some of the skincare stuff that I bought online from iherb.com. It is my go to website to buy natural skincare products. They always have amazing deals on along with super inexpensive shipping options. New users can use this discount code "ZUF525" for $5 off any order below $40 and $10 off any  order above $40. Before I found this website, I used to shop at vitacost.com but they increased their shipping cost many folds in the past couple of months. First their shipping cost to Canada was just $3.99 (amazing), then they increased it to $5.99 (really good), then $7.99 (okay) and now it is $11.49 (like wth?). So now I only shop at iherb because the shipping is only $4. 

Even though the shipping cost is very low, the shipments usually arrive within 2 weeks to Canada. Also, there aren't any shipping restrictions on oils etc. like their were on vitacost. I really love the fact that they have detailed information and list of ingredients for each product on their website. This time, I actually placed two orders on the same day but I am not including other items in this post as they are not relevant to the content of this blog. 

Derma E Scar Gel: I absolutely love Derma E's Refining Vitamin A Oil so I thought of giving this scar gel a try. It is a gel formula which goes on very lightly on the skin and doesn't feel greasy or sticky. However, you are supposed to use it 3-5 times daily and I sometimes forget to do that. 

Bee Naturals Queen Bee Facial Nectar: This is just a regular facial moisturizer but I bought it because I really liked the simple and natural ingredients. Also, it has a pump, which is always a bonus. 

Devita Revitalizing Eye Lift Cream: This is one of the main products that prompted me to place the order. However, I haven't tried it on yet as I am still working on my current eye cream but I really liked the ingredients. It contains some amazing vitamins and oils for nourishing the delicate under eye area. Also, it doesn't contain alcohol and is made with organic substituents. 

Quantum Health Scar Reducing Cream: This is another scar cream that I bought for my acne scars. However, this one is quite thick and has a distinct smell which I really don't like. Also, just like the other one, it is supposed to be applied at least 3-5 times daily. 

Sierra Bees Lip Balm: iherb always have freebies to choose from and I chose this lip balm in Pomegranate. I pick it up every time I place an order and I have almost every flavor now. 

Free Gift: iherb always sends a free gift, which may not be very valuable but definitely a very sweet gesture on their behalf. I have received a napkin, a marker, a stylus etc in the past. I really appreciate the fact that they think about their customers. 

Have you shopped from iherb before? If not would you like to in future? Do you have any favorite websites to shop for natural skincare products?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

Disclaimer: I bought everything with my own money and any of the websites mentioned don't even have an idea about this blog post.