Color Comparison: Missha Perfect Cover BB No.21 & No.13; Missha BB Boomer Review

I thought I had posted a swatch of the Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream No.13 that I had won. Guess not, but here it is~

First let's talk about the Missha BB Boomer. When I squeeze the product out, there's definitely a pearl finish to it. Applied, it gives the face a slightly dewy finish. The face also become slightly sticky (to help the BB cream stick better I suppose).

#13 doesn't have the gray-ish beige cast that #21 does so it gives off a "brighter" quality as you can see. Blended in fully, the colors don't differentiate too much. #13 seems to be a tidge too light for me still though so I'm working through #21.

The Missha M BB Boomer I don't think I will purchase. It just doesn't seem like something that improves the finished effect that much. This would be good for those with oily skin (need something to give BB cream extra hold).

If you haven't already, check out my review of No.23, which also has time-wear comparisons.

On a sidenote, I have so many pictures/ swatches of products to be reviewed but I never get around to them for some reason, haha. slowly but surely.

Slice of My Life: Bday

So my bday just happened, and tbh I'm kind of bummed! You know how your bday is supposed to be a day where you're extra special and people bend over backwards for you? Well, for once in my life I didn't feel that way at all. Instead, it just seemed like such a normal day. Most important is that I myself didn't get the usual "it's my bday~" tingle. Is it because I'm getting older?! (must fight aging!)

Supervisor at work offered to let me off, but I declined because I realized that everybody was busy doing something or other. At the most, I'd just head out to the mall and do some retail therapy. But what's the point in that? I can do that Thursday/Friday when I normally don't go in to work.

Started off the day missing the train by seconds. This led to me being an hour late to work overall. -___- not a great start. Got to work and it progressed like normal. My coworkers did give me a Crumbs cupcake though! Then I got home and we went straight to Sushi Palace to try out their sushi. Ate wayyy too much. It feels like a 9 month old food baby. There I saw a close acquaintance, but was too shy to call out to them (they were in a group with some others). That doesn't excuse them from not even texting happy birthday =/.

At the conclusion of the day, I realized that retail stores wish me a happy bday more than my own friends do. >_> They give me coupons and gifts (love gifts) at least. Even people who I thought were pretty close, haven't wished me a happy bday yet. I managed to guilt a couple more into wishing me happy bday after pointing out that that one acquaintance failed to (in a gentle light humored way of course ;D), but who wants to have to guilt people who are supposed to be their friends into wishing them a happy birthday? Ah well.

I also saw a couple high school kids walking around that made me nostalgic. They had that carefree we own the world attitude. High school was when we walked around convinced that we knew what was up. We made the rules, and anything was possible.

Conclusion of the sushi? It wasn't bad, but not the best in the area. I'll have to ask friend where we went last time where the mangos were really ripe. They have a $25 omakase which is filling enough (other places you have to spend around $80 at least).

Review: Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15

Have you checked out the Free Things I'm Giving Away?

The first time I came to know about this product was through the many Birchbloggers raving about their box find. Needless to say, my eyes lit up with envy. These solid tubes of balm just seemed to have a certain exclusive high class feel to them. At $22, I'd say it's nowhere near Chapstick level.

Although the price tag kept me away, I couldn't help but want to try them out at least. Went to Sephora and had absolutely no idea how to open them! Turns out it's a twist cap -___- figures. If you've been to a store where they let you test products, then you know stuff generally looks gross. The mushed up balm mess I saw was no exception (I didn't try it).

So when I saw that this year Sephora's birthday gift was a mini duo set of this balm, I ran around screaming YAYAYAYYAYAY!!! THANK YOU SEPHORA!! I should also say here that you shouldn't be shy to walk into Sephora and only pick up the birthday gift. I was that self conscious person who didn't want to just take the gift without buying anything. Take the gift. You just walk up to their cash register and present them with the birthday card they mail you. The birthday gifts are set aside separately and labeled as such.

They're really cute. Left my hand in there for general size reference.

O.M.G. EVERYONE needs to go our right now and get this if you have chapped lips. It's hard to tell, but in the pictures I purposely left my lips dry, chapped, and peeling to test the effect of this lip treatment. Within minutes I had soft, supple lips (I DARE you to kiss me!). This lip balm treatment is the best that I've ever tried. It works better than Vaseline.

It has no taste (I don't eat my lip products, but some of you do so I tasted it just for you =D), is very emollient, and smells faintly of vanilla.

My previous favorite was a Pangea Organics Lavender Lip Balm. That one works nicely as well but is half the retail price of the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment. The Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment is a very thick balm, so if thick balms aren't your thing, then the Pangea Organics Lip Balm would be better suited to you.

I love the tint of color that the Rose one gives, and now I want the Passion one as well haha. I've never finished a stick of balm ever, so these mini sized ones are perfect (wish they'd make minis of the other colors). I keep the brown one at home, and the Rose one in my purse for those on the go touch ups.

EDIT: See swatch of Passion HERE.

Tried it before? Which tint color do you use?

Birchbox May 2012: Gossip Girl Themed Boxes! (Possible Sneak peak?)

It's drawing near the release of the Gossip Girl Birchboxes and I'm completely ecstatic. Although I stopped watching Gossip Girl after the 3rd Season (just couldn't take it anymore), I've always loved the wardrobe and styling (so many coveted dresses @.@).

If you've been following my posts on these subscription boxes then you know I absolutely must get a sneak peek. So imagine my disappointment reading that the old sneak peak links of the boxes weren't working anymore. =/. Really can't take the suspense, too much stimulation for me. X_X

So... I went on a random trial and error hunt (you know what they say, it's all about the hunt), and I think I may have found them...could be wrong. (Birchbox don't hate me, I couldn't resist >.<. It's like OCD)

So far I've found 19 boxes- which is surprising (would've thought there'd be less this time). The cards must contain the clues to what happens in the season finale.

There's too many items I can't recognize, so I'm not even sure which box to lust after, haha. Hope we get introduced to some nice products.

I spot Stila, what is it? *-*

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What do you think? Which boxes have caught your eye?

05/09/12 Edit: Thanks to Zadidoll for pointing out that the boxes were out of their original order (they should be correct now- turns out I should put a "0" in front of the single numbers to keep the order =X). I apologize for any confusion this has caused. To be honest, I'm not actually concerned about which numbers go with which box (a box is a box is a box). I just put numbers so that the boxes could be referenced. If I do manage to find the boxes again in the future, they'll stay in the order I put them up as a "my blog only" reference.

For those who don't know, Birchbox is a makeup/skincare subscription service where they supposedly pick items for you based on a beauty profile that you set up. At $10/ month it doesn't break the bank and offers a fun mid-month pick me up.

If you haven't subscribed yet, hurry and JOIN the fun!

Beauty Bar + Allure: Sample Society May 2012

OH THANK YOU! T^T Let us all gather in a circle of hugs as we cry tears of joy. We finally have makeup! XD. I was really excited to get my box this month after peeking (can't help it). Not so excited to see that the price went up for me again ($16.05 -__-, each of my boxes has been a different price).

The box weighs less this month, but I'm much more excited about the items than for April's box ^^. It's like an early bday present.
Let's jump in!

Items:


1. Colorescience Pro SPF 20 Travel Puff: Illuminating Pearl Powder- provides sun protection whenever and wherever you need as well as a dose of color to keep your complexion looking its best. This weightless mineral pigment provides hours of water-resistant SPF 20 and fits easily in any purse or bag, making it perfect for travel. Each puff contains 10-20 applications for multiple uses. Once empty, use for other makeup applications.

• I was interested to try this out because these travel puffs have been popular recently.
• Tried to take a picture, but the effect was not extremely noticeable. Saw the powder poof into the air but there wasn't a huge difference to the area of application.
• Deposits shimmers onto skin, smooths out skin tone with light coverage (My finishing powder needs to get here soon).
• Not quite the product for me. Got so frustrated patting the puff on my face and not knowing if anything was depositing
• Still glad I was able to try it out. May use it if I start to look oily late in the day (seemed to sop up oil a bit)
• Full size worth $10

2. Bond No.9 New York Gift Collection Bon Bon: Bleeker Street  - For those who wanted to give the entire city of New York as a gift: Bond No. 9 first-ever scent miscellany; 18 of our fragrances in pocket spray form, packed in two enticing layers in a sturdy white box. The elegantly elongated bottles, wrapped like candles in our signature foils, are perfectly sized for travel. Plus, they're refillable!

Essential Elements: Set includes: Bryant Park, Chelsea Flowers, The Scent of Peace, Chinatown, Andy Warhol Silver Factory, Eau de New York, Bleecker Street, Broadway Nite, Nuits de Noho, Wall Street, Fire Island, Little Italy, Park Avenue, Chez Bond, Coney Island, So New York, Hamptons, West Side.

• Mine was Bleecker Street (how did you know purple is my favorite color =D)- "The scent of New York night life
  Art, fashion, seduction, and dessert in liquid form. A warm and sensual aphrodisiac that glides from day into evening.
  Fragrance Notes: Patchouli, cassis, caramel, woods, musk."
• It's a sharp/ fresh fragrance with a hint of sweetness underneath. Can totally go from day to evening.
• HATE these perfume vials because they are so hard to open. Every time I try to open these, I feel like it's just going to spill all over the place
• It's a nice scent, but doesn't particularly attract me. Could have it or not, doesn't really matter
• Full set 18ct (.25 fl oz each) $260, sample vial .057 fl oz worth $3.29

3. Alterna UV+ Color Fade Proof Fluide- combines strengthening pure Organic Bamboo Extract & color-locking, damage-locking Kalahari Melon Extract in a formula that weightlessly shields hair with a UVA/UVB barrier to fade-proofs color while enhancing vibrancy & multi-dimensional shine. With rinse resistant Color Hold® UV+ Technology for the highest level of color protection • Weightless formula 
• Enhances vibrancy & multi-dimensional shine
• Can be used alone or combined with any styling aid
• UVA/UVB shielding barrier
• Prevents color wash-out & fade-out 
• Highest level of color protection
• Contains rinse resistant UV filters that protect against oxidative color damage

• Plan on dyeing hair tomorrow so what a coincidence ^^
• At first I was thinking that applying this every single day is really tedious ( = not doing), but then I smelled how lovely it is @.@ very fruity and yummy
• Like a hair oil
• Cute pump
• Not sure whether I'd continue with the daily maintenance thing, but will try after dyeing.
• Full sized 2.5 oz $24, sample size .25 oz worth $2.40

4. StriVectin SD Intensive Concentrate for Stretch Marks & Wrinkles-  original with even more potent collagen-boosting peptides and Strivectin re-engineered the formula with NIA-114. Discovered in DNA skin cancer research, NIA-114 accelerates the rebuiling of skin layers. 

• *squeal*! So excited!!! I've been wanting to try this for so long, but never could because of the hefty price tag. Didn't want to spend the big bucks only to find out it didn't work
• Using for facial wrinkles and stretch marks
• Smells minty fresh, texture is just thick enough
• Can't wait to see what happens, will give an update in a month or two.
• Full sized 5 oz worth $135, sample size .75 fl oz worth $20.25

5. Stila Cosmetics Forever Your Curl Mascara- Featuring innovative lash-curl memory, this eye-catching wonder contains a proprietary resin that continuously curls lashes throughout the day - and holds curl for long-lasting results. A unique brush design coats and extends each individual lash, while an intense carbon black hue delivers maximum impact.

• Lashes remain soft and pliable
• Dark color makes strong impact (Eyes look better)
• Not waterproof = not so fond of. Still working my way through Kanebo Kate (they make lashes firm so some don't appreciate) 
• Noticed lashes lengthen a little bit.
• Not sure about the curl hold, could just be my short stick straight lashes. It seems like others didn't rate it well on sephora (only 2.5 stars)
• Full sized .24 oz worth $22, sample size .12 fl oz worth $11

Overall: Total Box Value ~$46.94


VALUE: Good! Really appreciate how they're all things that I can try/ use.

APPEARANCE: Each sample didn't have it's own little box this time, and it looked a bit empty upon opening but I'm happy with the items so it's ok.

ITEMS: Loved! We got makeup this time (still no color though), and everything was something I was excited to try. 

FAVORITES: Most excited to try out the StriVectin SD Intensive Concentrate for Stretch and Wrinkle & Stila Forever Your Curl Mascara


What do you think? Are the boxes luring you in yet? 


If you've been hooked, visit my first two Sample Society posts (tag link on Right Sidebar) to learn more. Be sure to use the code JMANGO when you sign up so they donate $5 to charity!