Glossybox USA: July 2012

It actually arrived in July o_O. Glossybox really needs to find a new shipping partner. How can it take a week for a package to travel within the same state -___-. Granted, they do ship a lot of liquids so that probably restricts their shipping methods. Instead they should consider shipping a week earlier, and sending out notices maybe 4 days after shipment.

Everyone is watching Olympics, but for some reason I have little motivation. Instead I'll bring you many posts!

The theme for my box is Summer Nights.

Alessandro International Pedix Heel Rescue Balm

• Admittedly I wasn't too fond of seeing the foot cream in my Glossybox. BUT...
• It has this minty smell with an underlying sweet scent. Reminds me of toothpaste
• Not super thick, but you can feel the dense "moisturizing effect". It's got mineral oil and shea butter. That explains why my foot is feeling so silky. It was slipping around in my slipper. Don't misunderstand, my feet don't feel oily.
• This seems like something that would go great in a winter Glossybox themed "Winter Healing"
• Full Size 100 ml worth $18, sample size 30 ml worth $5.40

Ofra Cosmetics Universal Eyebrow Pencil

• Glides on smoothly, doesn't wipe away immediately
• First time using an eyebrow pencil. Applied on the left. It does make them look fuller. I just have to remember not to come too close to the middle.
• Full size worth $10

Sebastian Color Ignite Multi Tone Shampoo + Conditioner

• Both products smell nice, but I'm liking the scent of the conditioner more.
• Shampoo is white and a bit runny. Hair feels clean after. Not much to say
• The condition dispenses like a mousse. You can see that the dispenser opening is different from any that you've seen before. The flat opening makes the product dispense in ribbons.
• The conditioner just seems gimmicky in the beginning, but the product is also great. My hair is left smooth and silky. Granted, it's not as strong as the conditioners in the hairdye boxes, but it's not supposed to be. For an everyday conditioner I'm more than satisfied. My hair goes wild without conditioner. This one gets the job done.
• Shampoo: Full size 8.4 oz worth $14.95, sample size 1.7 oz worth $3.03
• Conditioner: Full size 6.6 oz worth $16.95, sample size 1.65 oz worth $4.24

Senna Cosmetics Double Dose Lip Lacquer- Chocolate Cherry

• Slightly tacky texture, fairly good pigmentation.
• The first thing I noticed about the darker shade was the smell. Smells like vanilla, chocolate, and something else. This may sound like a delectable combination for many people, but it made me feel sick to my stomach. I'm not a fan of vanilla scents, but it was really the mix of something extra that made me feel queasy. 
• The lighter color has less of a scent and is also quite wearable. 
• I am not one that is usually sensitive to scents, but in this case I had to take the lipgloss off.
• Full size .34 oz worth $22

Almond and Aloe Hand & Body Emulsion by Caswell-Massey

•  There was a sense of disappointment when I opened my Glossybox and saw sample packets. Then I saw that they were extras and all was ok again.
• Really enjoyed this product. The almond scent is nice. Got into the car and thought "oooh, what is that lovely sweet smell. Oh wait, it's me, haha". But seriously- this stuff smells good. Then I slathered it on and thought to myself "Is this what bodies smell like after they've been poisoned with cyanide?"
• My dry skin is dry no more.
• Full size 10 oz worth $24, sample size .34 oz  worth $0.82.

Overall Box Value: ~$45.49

This will be my last Glossybox. I've already emailed to cancel subscription. While I do like some of the products, I felt like $21 was too much to shell out every month for boxes in which I only really liked about 2 items. I will just go back to experiencing Glossybox vicariously. $21 can seriously go towards getting you some nice things that you do want. I tried to hold out at least until I could get a free box  and collect more of these nice boxes to give others gifts in, but I just can't in these hard economic times. 

Check out my past Glossyboxes (and the items I liked from each) below:

1st, AP Refreshing Hydra Gel

2nd, Ahava Velvet Cream wash

I really wanted to like Glossybox but they have too many issues. Most of them are tech related. They've had so much time to get their act together, if stuff doesn't go smoothly soon, someone needs to be fired. I've never seen a website/company with so many issues.

Lioele Dollish Veil Vita BB: #1

I'm not sure whether this product is a BB or a BB cream base. It's interesting. At first I read the make-up base part and thought it was similar to primer or some sort of lotion. So I dispensed plenty of product.

Notice how there are tiny dark dots in the white cream though. As soon as I began blending the cream, the color started changing!!

COLOR: Works for me hue wise. Maybe half a shade dark.
TEXTURE: Leaves a "Sticky" dry frictious feeling.
COVERAGE: Medium

I think this product will work as a makeup base/ primer because of it's "sticky" texture. This doesn't fare too well on my dry skin, but I do like it otherwise. It's a fun concept! Pick it up if you have a chance.

Review: Make Up For Ever HD Foundation +Powder, Eshiko Face Powder, & Smashbox BB Cream

I've been trying to find something for full coverage and people keep talking about Make Up For Ever's HD Foundation. Today, I spent a good hour in Sephora trying to match foundation colors (and testing other brands as well). I finally settled on #117.

Make Up For Ever HD Foundation

COLOR: The color looks to be ever so slightly too light and yellow at first (I am NW15-20). However, after giving it time to settle, the color darkens (good for NC20). Initially I thought the color being off wasn't too bad, especially for photos, but irl it looks terrible because the tone is not right.

COVERAGE: Medium. It didn't cover everything, but for a photo it will work.

TEXTURE: Blends nicely and leaves you with a matte finish.

PROS: I love how it smoothed out my pores. It's as if someone took the blur tool to my face.

CONS: Drying to my dry skin. As time passed, the makeup started showing the flakes.

I will have to return this because at $42 it cannot just sit around here. It does have my desired coverage effect, so I wish MUFE would come out with one for dry skin.

Make Up For Ever HD Powder


I have heard so much about this powder, and today I finally got the travel sized 5g to try out. It was $16 I believe, which is a lot more reasonable to try out products. I am really loving the travel sized products Sephora is offering. Some things you just want to try, and some you don't use as much of and buying the full sized is burdensome. I want to snag Benefit's High Beam travel set next ($12).

I packed the product on, and found that I did notice it smoothing out the makeup. The dry flakes of skin that were starting to show due to the HD foundation appeared a bit more blurred. This powder does lighten skin a bit. I can see how those flash photo mishaps would be glaring on those with darker skin tones. With this product you must take care to really blend the product well. I missed a couple spots in my photo.

This is a product that drys out skin and produces a matte effect, so those of us with dry skin might have to moisturize heavily. I'm not sure I want to continue using this powder because of my dry skin, but I'll hold onto it for a bit longer.

Eshiko Face Powder


I reviewed Eshiko before, but now I get to compare it against MUFE's HD powder. Again, I packed the powder on. There was not much improvement in the appearance of my makeup. In fact, I think this powder made things worse with this foundation. Areas started clumping together and it was quite unsightly. Perhaps it would fare better with a powder foundation. It did feel a little less drying than the MUFE HD powder- I'm assuming it's because it is more finely milled.

Applied on left side of face means that it is on the left side when you look at it (Left side of pic). It looked a bit too dark, so I tried using Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in No.13 as a highlight.

BEFORE:

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream-Light

I'm really glad the sales associate took note of my skin shade while giving me the sample. However, it's still too dark for me. When he gave me the sample he said, "And the BB, you just pat *gestures* around your eyes, use as a primer or your foundation". 

COLOR: Too dark for me, maybe good for a NC20-25?

COVERAGE: Medium

TEXTURE: Easy to Blend, but drying on top. It has a certain sticking quality that is good as a primer.

Imo, it's already pretty heavy coverage-wise. Putting foundation on top of this is a bit strange to me. You'll likely end up breaking out more.

Fresh Sugar Lip Tint Treatment- Passion

You already know how much I love this from my review of the Rose one. Well, the Rose kind of melted and fell apart (don't leave in your car). So I went to Sephora and picked me up the full sized Passion. It has a good amount of color without going overboard. I can apply this in the church bathroom without fear of the old ladies judging me.

Recap of Before and After:

As a side note, I took a color vision test. Turns out I can perfectly distinguish hues (that's no mistakes!). It's kind of fun, try it. http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?pageid=77&lang=en

I also tried the L'oreal Age Perfect Advanced Skin Repair Serum that came in the Allure magazine (yes, they still send me these). It has that translucent color every serum has, and smells a bit like sweet potatoes o_O. My dry skin is left feeling non-dry and a little more touchable. Hmm, not bad. No idea if the age repair part actually works or not.

Birchbox: July 2012

I am sad. This will be a short post.

I did get the eyeko in purple. It can make a thin line, but it's not very pigmented. Marker-like and I guess you have to go over it a couple times for fuller coverage. It's not waterproof and wipes off easily as well =/

The Larabar... is cherry flavored. I was happy until I tasted it. So sour X_X. =/ Missing that crisp crunch for the nuts. They should preroast these. 

Earbuds are pretty much good only for listening to talks. A bit fuzzy sounding.

These Boscia Green Tea Blotting Linens work. Not much else to say.

Also receive the Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint. The size is smaller than the other subscription box. It's also in Golden. Guess I'll be giving this away too...

Oscar de La Renta- Read about Live in Love in my Sample Society box for June.

$10... down the drain.

Review: Jouer Cheek & Lip Tints + Butter London Teddy Girl Lippy

Got my second order from Beautybar.com. They need to seriously get smaller boxes.

The Jouer Cheek & Lip Tints are smaller than I would've thought.

I like how they have their own mirrors and can slide together. It was kind of disappointing that the actual product is maybe 1"x1". $20 for these things is a lot!

On the left- the darker red is Dahlia, on the right-the pink is Petal.

Petal is very light pink. Creamy in consistency

Dahlia sweated, and is more like an oil now. It has a lot of pigment, so just a dab will do.

Butter London's Lippy- Teddy Girl

It is tacky. You can't really rub your lips together or the application becomes uneven. Best to pre-exfoliate. People were complaining that it's not as light as the polish, but if it were really that light, this color would not be wearable. It's ok to me. The most offending part of this product is the smell. It smells like flowers. That is really distracting on your mouth. Why didn't they choose something edible to flavor? The smell doesn't really go away either. I had really wanted Primrose Hill Picnic, but Beautybar.com was just out of that color. I'm not sure if I want to try another Lippy, or try to find a dupe with a different formula. Maybe an actual lipstick?

BTW, my Birchbox still hasn't arrived. At this rate, I don't think it's really shipped yet. Probably just sitting in their warehouse.