Topbox January 2014 Unboxing

 

Yay 1st Topbox of 2014 is here!! The shipment date has now been moved to the 15th of the month, and I felt like I did my wishlist so long ago that I completely forgot what I "wished" for...but lo and behold...

 

(*Note: I've updated this post with brief reviews of the products I've been trying out)

 

The benefit box!

 

With the whole Chinese new year theme, nice...

 

My 1st peek inside...

 

What I pulled out first...

 

Turned out to be the fake up sample. I've been wanting to try this, so this is great, though I really wish it was a deluxe sample rather than this one-time use thing...

 

(*Update: This concealer is actually pretty darn good! It is moisturizing and does not stick to the dry patches I sometimes get under my eyes. It also holds up for a good 8 hrs or so without creasing. Unfortunately medium is a bit too yellow for me, but other than that, I will actually consider purchasing this product in a lighter shade)

 

I accidentally pulled out the product card next, tried not to read it...

 

And the goodies!

 

First up...(ok I really didn't count the fake-up sample as the first since it was so tiny).  I've been loving benefit's other infamous mascara, so this will be interesting to try for comparison.

*UPDATE: I've been trying this mascara for the past couple of weeks, with and without a mascara primer, lid primer, powder under my eyes, and all such combos. Why am I trying all these combos...because this mascara looks amazing on the lashes but smudges like mad in a few short hours, like reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally bad smudging. Sigh...I haven't been able to find a combo that makes this smudge less, so am giving up on it. I do have oily lids that smudges all things quite easily, so if you have dry lids I would still give this a try as it is amazing on the lashes: no clumps, volume and length, keeps curl, etc.)

 

Next, moisturizer! This I will totally make use of, a girl can't have too much moisturizers, especially in the winter (and with the -30C coming again next week to Toronto, sigh...)

 

(*Update: I've been using this daily for the past week and it is one of the best moisturizers I've ever used! Very moisturizing but doesn't feel sticky or oily and absorbs very quickly.)

 

Next, the infamous benetint. I tried this right away, it actually was not as pigmented as I expected, so I had to actually put quite a bit on both my cheeks and lips for it to show up at all, but it does give a nice natural "flush from within" look. One thing I didn't like (not unique to this) is just that tints in general I find very hard to wash off. It's just like staining your skin with a marker perhaps, takes some time to come off...  Overall, I still much prefer Face Atelier's Facade when I want that natural finish, because it's a much more pigmented product that is actually easier to blend, AND easier to wash off. 

 

And lastly, the infamous Porefessional primer, which I have been wanting to try but have been delayed with all the other new primers I've been trying lately (and hopefully one day will get to blogging about...). I love primers and use them for sure underneath foundations and BB creams (yes even though BBs advertise as primers, they still look and last better with a good primer) and some days even just go primer alone to even out my skin a bit and get some oil-control without powdering.

 

 

That's it, super quick unboxing post for this month. What did you get in yours?! Let me know in the comments and link to your blog I'd love to visit.