Eyeko Hydrogel Eye Patch Review

This is my first time ever trying out eye masks! The Eyeko Hydrogel came from a recent Topbox.  I had only recently tried their eye makeup remover wipes which were very good as well, so was looking forward to this product.

Each pack comes with two masks (for both eyes!), and both sides of the "gel" mask has a backing.

It didn't really come with instructions on how to do this, so I took off one side, applied, then took off the other side (kinda like double-sided tape...).

It's pretty big, and covered a lot of my cheek as well. I left it on for about 30 min as instructed.

The results! It did smooth out my under-eye area. I don't get puffy to start with so wasn't sure if it de-puffed anything. It also made my skin smoother for concealer application after.


Only issue was it did somewhat slide around my face, often needing to push it back into place. In retrospect this eye mask should probably be used lying down, but I don't have 30 min to lie down in the AM so I had it on while attending to my usual morning activities.  I suppose you could use this at night, but I find the effect was gone by the end of day, so using at night may be pointless.

Overall, I like this product, but it isn't super practical for my daily life. It's better if you really have no hurry to attend to anywhere or anything in the morning, not for the busy mom (we better just stick to an eye creams/serums). Unless it's a special occasion of course and you've convinced hubby to take care of both toddler and dog for 2 hrs so you can get ready leisurely with this :)

The Eyeko Hydrogel Eye Patches cost $23CDN for 4 sets.

Do you use eye masks? 

Tom Ford Cheek Color - Wicked Review + Swatches

I had gone to NYC awhile back with hubby. We had an amazing time (without the little one), and saw an amazing musical, called "Wicked". It's a twist on the story of Oz, where the wicked witch was not so evil as all thought. So of course, the next day, when shopping at Saks, I'm browsing the Tom Ford counter and come across this lovely blush, also called "Wicked". Of course I had to buy it right?! (It's amazing how I justify random purchases).

I've long heard the legend of Tom Ford, particularly about his eyeshadows and blushes and how absolutely amazing they are, but the price point and lack of availability had previously prevented me from over-indulging in his over-indulgent line of cosmetics. Only a couple of years ago now did Tom Ford counters enter the Canadian market via Holt Renfrew, which means special trips as Holts are not "everywhere" like the Bay and Sephora.  His limited edition products are even harder to procure, every time they have been sold out and even putting my name on a waitlist has not been fruitful. I'm truly jealous of our neighbors down south over this :)

Tom Ford's packaging is always simple and minimalistic, yet weighty and quietly speaking luxury. This blush is housed very similarly to the eyeshadow quads, though of course of smaller size. See my review of one of his quads here.

Ok enough impressionist rambling, onto the blush! Wicked is a muted pink, which on me is demi-matte. Enough lustre to not look dull but not at all shimmery. 

Left is one finger swipe on the pan, middle is back-n-forth of finger in the pan with one swipe on the arm, and right side is blended out.

As you can see, the pigmentation is very even and smooth. No powdery chalkiness or uneven blotchiness here. Well, it better be for a blush that is $75 CDN or $57 USD (isn't that crazy?! I'm so glad I bought it in the US, the exchange doesn't even work out if you do the math).

Despite the glaring "pink" of this, it comes out very natural on my face when blended. I wear blush very lightly and unfortunately is too light for the camera to pick up so I didn't include a face swatch, but you could definitely build this up if you like. 

Overall, I'm glad to have this in my collection. Would I buy more...that is debatable due to price. If I had more disposable income, I'd collect this (there aren't all that many more colors), but for now, I'll settle for just being "wicked" :) 

Ok that is totally cheesy, sorry =P 

What do you think of Tom Ford cosmetics or his blushes? Worth the price or no?

Topbox March 2015

Wee another Topbox! This $12+tax/mo subscription usually brings me a smile mid-month, click onward to see my contents this month, and feel free to leave me a link with yours!

Weekend Masking: SK-II Facial Treatment Mask Review

No better time for pampering than the weekend, and no better way to do it than with an ultra expensive sheet mask. This has got to the most expensive sheet mask I have ever used!! It's $21 if you buy individually, and $168 + tax for a box of 10, eeps! If it wasn't for my best friend gifting this to me, I honestly would not have splurged this much on something I had not tried before.

I have used 5 sheets now...I'm sad half the box is gone!

 First off, the sheet is very BIG... with a bit too much excess material for my smaller facial frame. Unfortunately the eye shape/holes doesn't suit me well at all (too close together) and thus there's always a bit of mask touching the edge of one of my eyes no matter how I place it. It's not terrible but enough to be annoying. Although I should mention I have this problem with most other masks I've tried.

The sheet is also very thick, which isn't a problem in and of itself but again due to the excess for my face it moves around and lifts a fair bit, so I have to smooth it back down every couple of minutes. The product the mask is soaked in is gel-like and contains SK-II's signature Pitera compound (derived from sake fermentation, which is the supposedly magical anti-aging compound in all of SK-II's products).

When I use this I apply the mask after cleansing and drying my face. I leave it on for about 30 minutes, then massage my face and go right to sleep. Though the price is steep, I do have to admit this works better than any other mask I've tried (usually in the $2-5 range). My skin looks brighter, smoother, calmer (less red), and my pores...what pores?! Ok fine it's not magical, of course I still see pores, but way less. The effect lasts for about 2-3 days noticeably and then is sadly gone.

My frugal-ness also keeps the left over product from the sachet in a mini-jar, and it is enough for another 1-2 applications (without the mask). I never do this for the cheaper masks, as it's not worth the effort, but for close to $20 per mask/sachet thing, I think it is...




Overall, I love this product and what it does for my face...but I say it hesitantly because I hate that I love it... because the price is almost not justifiable. Also I do wish the mask itself wasn't so big or that the eye holes were further apart, but those are smaller issues. I hate to admit it but... in the end I will probably be saving up to repurchase this, sigh...

Have you tried the SK-II masks before? What's your favorite sheet mask?

Brush Guard Cleaning Kit Review

This thing came out ages ago in makeup land, but as usual I waited for the hype to die (not purposely). The Brush Guard system initially came out as this porous tube to protect and shape brushes while drying and/or while in storage. I found way cheaper dupes on Ebay and so have used those all along for protecting my brushes in makeup bags. I decided to finally try out the "original" recently (actually for no reason other than I wanted to buy something...it was one of those days *hangs head in shame*...).  Click onward below to see photos of my brush cleaning process and my thoughts on this kit!

Seeing red...

Confession: I have never bought a full size red lipstick before... I do have quite a few red lippies around but they've all either come from a makeup set I purchased, from Sephora rewards redemption, or from gifts-with-purchase. Why you ask... I am honestly a little scared of red on myself! It is so bold and so striking that I suddenly become self-conscious that people are staring my lips.

I was shopping at Sephora recently with a friend who LOVES bold reds, and won't waste any time with the pinks or nudes. She finds it odd that I would wear MLBB lippies and said "what's the point of that?!" Though I will still defend my MLBBs and tinted lip balms, she inspired me to play with the reds sitting in my makeup drawer, so hence comes this post.

The Hourglass is clearly the most pigmented and most bold, I previously reviewed it here (it came from an Hourglass 500-pt reward from Sephora). I thought after that I would dare to wear red more often but alas it did not happen...also a few special events later where I chose to amp my eyes (which I feel safer about) I still left this little beauty sitting in my drawer.  

I decided to put on for the day a more muted red, the Bite VIB Rouge shade (it was a mini lippie that all VIB Rouge members receive). 

natural lips

BITE - VIB Rouge

 It looks way more muted in the photo than in person, but doesn't compare to Hourglass in boldness.

Do you love red/bold lips? Or do they make you self-conscious? Should I work on this?! I need some makeup exposure therapy...