Review: Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in A-Lister, Fauxmance, Kiss You, Lollibop, Poutrageous, and Icebreaker

This review, like most of mine, is very overdue. I picked up this 6-pack gift set after the holidays, and forgot to review these. 

The packaging: These glosses come in a standard lip gloss tube (much like Lancome's Juicy Tubes) with a white cap. I like glosses that come with an applicator, so that was the only thing I disliked about the packaging.

The scent: These all had a fruity, mango-ish scent to them. The scent wore off quickly, so it wasn't a problem.

The product: Oh god. I love these. They definitely live up to their name of "ultra plush." These glosses hug your lips and feel so good on. It actually felt like my lips turned into two very soft pillows. They are not sticky at all and are hydrating. I usually avoid lip glosses because I hate how most are sticky, so these definitely proved me wrong. The downside to these are that they don't last long on lips, so you're frequently reapplying. Also, there is very little color pay-off with these. These are sheer to basically transparent. 

A-Lister is a light, milky peach color. This was my least favorite because it literally looked like I had peach-colored milk on my lips. With my coloring, this shade looked horrible.

Fauxmance is a berry, almost-mauve color. This seems like it's a MLBB shade.

Kiss You is a purplish-pink color, and is actually a great way to wear this year's color of the year, Radiant Orchid. It delivers a very sheer wash of this color on lips.

Lollibop is a bright, hot pink. If you want to test out hot pink on your lips, but are timid, try this sheer gloss.

Poutrageous is a coral color.

Icebreaker (no photo) is clear. 

Favorites: The two I would re-purchase are Kiss You and Icebreaker, but I'm fairly certain it would be easy to find cheaper dupes of these.

Cost: Individually these glosses are $16 each. Is it worth it? If you're a huge fan of lip gloss, then yes, RUN to purchase these! 

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Technical Difficulties

Hey all!

I've been busy to say the least, but I'm back with lots of reviews ahead! 
I was aware that the photos on this blog were not working, but couldn't figure out why...and for once, Google failed me. BUT, after twiddling around with things, I've managed to get them back up. Hopefully it won't happen again!

Thanks for sticking around, and let's get on to the reviews! 

Review: Stila Portrait of a Perfect Pout - Vibrant Lip Palette

I'll admit it - my lipstick drawers are lacking in Stila products. I have several of their liquid eyeliners, but I've never really sought out any of their lip products. However, over the holidays I bought two different lip products.

The first was this lip palette. I had seen it online and then stumbled upon it while out Christmas shopping at Dillard's. Since then, I've seen a crate-load of these at Nordstrock rack for $9, so don't be like me and have paid the full price ($16)!

The packaging: This comes in a slim, cardboard palette. It's very light and a bit flimsy, so I wasn't that pleased with the packaging. Also, it's a lip palette without an accompanying lip brush.

The scent: No scent detected here!

The product: This palette contains six shades. The consistency was very soft - almost too soft. I pressed my lip brush in, and it literally just sank through to the bottom. The shades were somewhat opaque. With the lighter shades, I could definitely see my natural lip color peeking through. They applied pretty evenly without streaks, and there was minimal settling into lip lines. I did a very quick lip prep by swiping on some lip balm before applying these colors. These all have a balm-like consistency, so they wore off quickly. Without eating and drinking, these lasted about 3 hours on me. With eating and drinking, they needed to be reapplied. 

(The pictures above go L to R in order of the shades.)

Hey Baby is a very light, baby pink with a bit of a metallic sheen. 
Pink Flamingo is a brighter pink with some peach tones in it.
Rosy Posy is a pink with a lot of purplish tones in it. 
Sangria is a bright pink with blue undertones.
Siren is a watermelon pink with a bit more red mixed in.
Merlot is a deeper red, but leans more on the brighter side than a true wine. 

Favorites: I lean towards brighter (non-baby) colors, so I did not like Hey Baby or Pink Flamingo very much. The color I've been using most out of this palette is Rosy Posy, which is such an easy color to wear. Overall, this palette is a good buy for girls who like pinks.

Cost: $16 on Stila's website and at department stores. Go to Nordstrom Rack and find it for $9! This is not worth $16, so definitely search for this on sale!

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Review: Kate Spade New York "Supercalifragilipstick" Lipstick

It has been too long since I posted a review, but I'm here! Christmas and New Year's both passed in a blur, and I turned 30 this year! I think what everyone says about turning 30 is very true. It wasn't sad, it wasn't horrible, it's wasn't the end of the world. It actually feels great, and I'm more myself and at peace with everything than I've ever been. And 30 is the new 20, right? 

Anyway, I was at Nordstrom Rack over the holidays trying to get some holiday gift shopping in, and it's always days when you're shopping for others that you always find something for yourself. So, I was browsing the beauty section when I stumbled upon a basket of these Kate Spade lipsticks. Now, I thought these were out of season or discontinued because they were at Nordtrom Rack, but nope! These are still on the Nordstrom website for $24.00 each. I got them for $7 each - amazing! 

The packaging: These come in a bright pink and red box with gold lettering. The tube itself is gold with pink lettering. You have to push in the bottom of the tube to get the lipstick out, and it's actually really fun to push in and push again to reinsert the lipstick. The tube says "pucker up" which makes me smile each time I see it! Kate Spade never fails when it comes to "happy" packaging, so I loved the packaging on these.

The scent: There is no discernible scent with these.

The product: I purchased three shades. All went on very smoothly. They all have a creamy texture, and two swipes gave me full coverage. There was minimal settling into lip lines, and I didn't have to prep my lips for these. They were fairly hydrating, and lasted about 3 hours. With eating and drinking, these definitely come off, so I did have to reapply. The first is Peach Snaps, which is a bright peachy-coral on me. This color packed a major punch, and it definitely turned heads being as bright as it is! The second shade is Bashful Blush, which is a muted rosy nude shade. This is the most wearable of course, because it's almost a "my lips but better" color. The last shade is Parisian Pink which was a bright pink with blue undertones. This one would be great for the upcoming Spring/Summer, and definitely made my teeth look brighter.

 

Favorites: My favorite would have to be Peach Snaps, but it's also not a color I could wear every day being so bright. I will be rockin' it this summer though!

Cost: If you can somehow manage to find these at Nordstrom Rack, they're $7. Otherwise, Nordstrom is selling these at $24 each. Is it worth $24? No, so try hunting around to see if these are still on sale.

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: TONYMOLY Petite Bunny Gloss Bar in Apple

I was Sunday shopping post-brunch with my girlfriends (a Sunday ritual) and stumbled into Urban Outfitters. Now, I'm at an age where I think I've mostly outgrown what Urban Outfitters has to offer. I can't really pull off graphic tees (especially ones with clever sayings) and I'm in no need of flasks or any other of-the-moment hipster products they're peddling. However, every now and then, I do stumble upon something in UO and it's usually in the beauty department. 

UO has been making me very happy lately because they're starting to carry more and more Korean beauty lines - especially online! You can shop products from 3CE (3 Concept Eyes), TONYMOLY, and SkinFood. I wish more Korean brands would open actual storefronts in the US, but for now...this is it.

So, while browsing in UO, I saw these very cute TONYMOLY gloss bars. My friend C told me she had bought this in Peach and liked it, so I picked up one in Apple. 

The packaging: This product comes in stick form with the cap shaped like a bunny's head. The cap is incredibly cute and makes me smile every time I look at it. Each stick is colored in the shade the product is, and you twist up the bottom to push more product out. The product itself is not shaped in the usual pencil-point. It's actually flat. I found that I like this shape more because it's easier to apply on my lips, and since this is more like a gloss-balm, I don't need to necessarily worry about going outside my lip lines. The great thing about this product and its packaging is that you can stash it into your pockets, your purse, anywhere. And if it peeks out, it's even cuter because you get to show off its little ears!

The scent: There is a slight fruity scent (melon?), but it's very faint. It's almost like it's there...and then it's not. I couldn't smell it once applied to my lips, and I couldn't smell it very well even when I stuck my nose right up to it and kept inhaling! 

The product: Apple is a bright, translucent pink shade. With one swipe, you'll get the faintest hint of color. With two or three, you'll see more of the pink shade. It does let my natural lip color come through though, but that's not a bad thing. It makes my lips look incredibly healthy and rosy due in part to the gloss part providing shine and the balm part providing a full, healthy look to my lips. It kept my lips fairly hydrated, but the product only lasted a couple hours on my lips. No lip prep is required because it is a balm, so that's a plus.

Favorites: Don't know yet - will go back and grab another shade to test!

Cost: $8. It is a high mark-up when compared to the actual price in Korea, but it's just so darn cute. Definitely something you could buy as a little gift for your little sister, little niece...maybe even your sophisticated girlfriends who are still young at heart (like all of mine!). 

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

You might notice the watermarks on all my photos. To prevent people from using my photos as their own (especially on Instagram), I'm trying to make it a point to make sure each of my photos has this. The downside of the blogosphere... :(

Review: Tom Ford Bruised Plum Lip Color

Another day, another review! 

The packaging: Tom Ford is all about luxury, and the packaging for this lipstick does not disappoint! This product comes in a black and gold square tube - very heavy, very glamorous. The Tom Ford logo is stamped onto the product itself, so if you don't want to smear it when applying, you'll have to apply from the backside of the lipstick. I loved the packaging, but I had one problem with mine - the cap kept coming off when I had it in my purse. I don't know if I had a faulty cap or if others have experienced this problem as well?

The scent: There was a slight vanilla-like scent, but it was hardly noticeable.

The product: Bruised Plum is a deep red/plum (hence the name) shade with a tiny amount of shimmer noticeable. The shimmer isn't noticeable when applied to lips, but you can definitely see it when you hold the product up to light. I definitely had to prep my lips for this product because the first time I applied this without prepping my lips and a lot of flakiness and drying occurred. This product does tend to settle into lip lines and therefore, it doesn't truly provide even coverage. It wasn't as smooth and as easy to apply as Too Faced's La Creme lipsticks, but overall it was easy to glide over lips. Once applied, it stayed on for about 4 hours and definitely left a stain behind. I actually like the stain it leaves behind more so than when I first apply it, so lately I've been wearing this by blotting it on lightly with my fingertips rather than a full application. 
 

Rockin' Tom Ford while wearing a hoodie. Definitely mixing high and low today.

Favorites: This is my first taste of Tom Ford Beauty, so we'll have to leave this section blank until I get my hands on another product. 

Cost: This will definitely leave a dent in your account at $49. Would I recommend it? No, there's many dupes out there for this shade. You're really paying for the Tom Ford name - and if that's what you're after then buy it. Otherwise, sit this one out.

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Review: Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro in #201

Hello all! It's been a long while since I posted a new review, but I have a huge backlog of products to share with you, so there will be many reviews coming along in 2014! Hope you all had a great Christmas and an amazing start to the new year!

2013 was a very interesting year to say the least for me. It was definitely a year where I really tested myself in all areas of life and came out of it really believing that I can do anything I set my sights on. I graduated from nursing school, passed my licensing exam, developed great new friendships, and grew deeper in my old friendships. I learned how to be alone and really enjoy it...and that I really like who I've become in the past couple years. I hope you all had as interesting (or more) of a year as I had, and that we all have an even more intriguing 2014!

So for the first review of 2014, I'm doing a late review on another Armani lip product. I am obsessed with Armani's beauty line since the middle/end of last year because they deliver on both staying-power and saturation.

The packaging: This matte lacquer is in a clear tube that shows the product inside and its capped with Armani's signature red cap. The applicator is a doe footed applicator that applies a heavy amount of product with one swipe. 

The scent: No scent detected at first whiff or second or third or ever. No scent when applied on lips as well.

The product: #201 (dark velvet) is a matte lacquer that is the shade of deep wine. Again, the applicator holds a lot of product, so I like applying with a lip brush instead. With Lip Maestro, you need only ONE swipe for full coverage and you only need to use a very tiny amount of product to cover your lips. I definitely prepped my lips by exfoliating and applying clear balm and nude lip liner before applying this deep shade. It does tend to feather on the edges a bit, but lining your lips should take care of that. This wore for 12+ hours through many glasses of wine and food. I've actually been wearing this a lot when I go out for wine nights because I tend to drink only reds and you can't tell if I have a wine stain on my lips with this on! 

This is how quick this product stains. I applied and after a couple mins, tried to wipe it off.

Favorites: I love this color #201, but if I had to choose one color out of the Lip Maestro line, it would definitely be #400. That classic red has been my go-to color for the latter part of 2013.

Cost: $32 - yes, expensive. But worth it? Absolutely. I've been wearing this for many, many months now...and still have tons of product left in each tube. 

Questions? Comments? Let me know!