Empties: February 2015

Another month has gone by! Time for my favorite post of the month, empties! (I have been on a buying-freeze in attempt to use up my stash and save money, so these posts feel good to do!)

 

 Shiseido Pureness Cleansing Water: This is good stuff on days with light-no makeup. Refreshing and not drying. Unfortunately not super great at removing heavier makeup, so Bioderma still beats this. Enjoyed using it but won't repurchase.

 Lancome Nutrix Royal Body: woa wee this is a HEAVY body cream. This was a hefty deluxe sample, but the tube totally sucked and was very difficult to squeeze the stuff out once I was more than half ways through. Very moisturizing though. Might purchase once I've done more stash shopping.

 Josie Maran Daily Moisturizer SPF47: I wasn't expecting much from this as it felt very oily/thick initially, however it actually absorbs nicely and doesn't leave much of a white cast despite how white it looks in the bottle. This is better for dry skin/winter skin. Might purchase.

 Marc Jacobs lip balm: this was a very good lip balm, but not really anything special and thus not worth the $30 full price. If I'm going to pay that much I'd much rather shell out for the Hourglass Lip Oil. Won't purchase due to it being overpriced.

 BareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara: If you're like me, and have a giant stash of mascara samples, start using them now... Once opened, mascaras only last 1-2 mos before drying out. This however, was dead dry upon first-opening. I don't think I got it anymore than a year ago, though I could be mistaken. Time to move on those mascaras!!! Don't know if I'd purchase since I didn't see the true product...

 Shu Uemura red:juvenus Revitalizing emulsion: Very light and quick-absorbing lotion. Better for summer so I unfortunately tried this in the wrong season. I liked it overall, but the scent was a bit too strong. Probably won't purchase.

 B. Kamins Brightening Mask: I reviewed this previously here. This masks works very well but unfortunately as the winter set in begun to sting more and more. Won't purchase.

Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo: I've saved the best for last! I've already purchased the full size bottle. This came from a previous topbox, and though it makes the hair a bit too smooth to do up-dos, for those lazy let-my-hair-do-whatever days, this is amazing for freshening up to rid the grease and there is NO white buildup. It also smells great. I think this will be repurchased again and again unless I find something even better.

Topbox February 2015

 It's a little late...but it's still Feb! I loved this month's Topbox, and am glad I got the regular box.

Oh KP duty, I wish you came along earlier in the winter...this is an amazing body moisturizer! I have been using this daily for the last couple of weeks, it does what it advertises!

Never tried eye patches before...this will be interesting...

 

Teez pencil brush. Initially I thought this might be not stiff enough, but it works well actually to smudge/wing-out pencil liners without dragging the eye lids too much.

 

Now this was a sweet indulgent product. Very gentle shower oil, which foams with water. Doesn't dry me and is another winter-win!

 

What did you get in yours?

Tarte Waterproof Cream Shadow Stick in Shimmering Sand with Tarte emphasEYES Clay Shadow Stick in Taupe - Review and Swatches

Back when Sephora had a sale, I picked up these two cream eyeshadow sticks from Tarte. I had always been a powder eyeshadow, but the price was so good on these I had to give them a try.

I somehow was expecting them to come in a box, but instead they arrived in plastic bags, which wasn't as nice. I suppose in then end the box is useless anyways...

These two shades looked like they'd go well together, with the lighter shade as an overall lid shade and the darker in the crease. Or the darker closer to the lashes with the lighter just in the corner for a mildly smokier look. I was right, they ended up going heavenly together! The formula is super soft and creamy, and blends together very well.

These are heavier swatches below, and as you can see they can go on darn pigmented, or can be lightly applied for a sheer wash.

Left: Shimmering Sand; Right: Taupe

Swatch #1: Shimmering sand over the lid, with Taupe lightly placed in the crease and lower lashes; blended out with ring finger.

(doesn't this look so natural?! Just the right amount of shimmer, not too much for day time. The two shades blended effortlessly together)

Swatch #2: Taupe over the mobile lid, with Shimmering Sand on the inner corner, blended out with ring finger.

(darker and more eye defining look, again blends sooo nicely together)

Here's swatch #2 with light liquid eyeliner. No mascara in this photo but obviously I'd suggest you wear this with mascara if heading out and doing more than taking swatch photos at home :)

Here's a heavier cat liner with swatch #1. I realized I actually would prefer the heavier liner with swatch #2. Falsies would go nicely...

In the end my favorite was swatch #1 with softly smudged brown pencil liner and light coat of black mascara.

I been using this look a lot for those days I want to be bit fancier but not really look like I'm wearing makeup. Definitely a go-to these days when school/work has been incredibly busy.

To conclude, these shadow sticks have completely converted me over from powder! They're so soft and easy to use, and blend out in mere seconds with a ring finger.  This is now my travelling eyeshadow combo of choice as brushes are no longer necessary (brushes are annoying for me on the road, I keep what I bring to a minimum).

Are you a powder or cream eyeshadow person? Why one vs the other? Have you tried these beauties from Tarte? Let me know your thoughts!

Empties: January 2015

Bah blogging is slowing much down these days...at least I'm continuing to use up products :)  Hopefully I can at least keep up these empties posts as it's good to get a "final word" in on these. Enjoy for what it's worth!

The empty stash...

 

 Joico Joishape hair spray. Not a bad hairspray. Allows me to restyle. No residue if I brush my hair out. Only problem is the nozzle kept getting stuck due to product build up, needing multiple different maneuvers to flow again. Eventually I gave up. Won't repurchase

 John Frieda volume shampoo and conditioner. Not bad, but not super amazing. I always switch up my hair care. May repurchase but not super excited to do so.

 Clarins anti-polution cleansing cream. This cleanser felt amazing on my parched winter skin. Unfortunately it doesn't remove makeup well at all. I'd suggest this as a second stage if you're a two stage cleanser. Otherwise just use this on literal no-makeup days (not those no-makeup makeup days!). May consider repurchasing.

 Clinique high impact mascara. Solid product, but didn't wow me and I got way too many more mascara samples to go through. Won't repurchase.

 White Japanese Konjac sponge from T&T. Love these, I have used the white, green, and black is in use now. They're $6.99 and much cheaper than the Sephora ones. Will continue to repurchase.

Marc Jacobs Hi-liner gel crayon (originally reviewed here). I loved this liner while it lasted... What happened you ask? One day, after lining one eye, I move on to the other eye and notice the entire inside is GONE. Yup, it fell out onto my bathroom floor during the short second it took to transfer hands. About 2-3 inches worth of product, FELL OUT. I couldn't believe it... Makes me wary about repurchasing, though it contributed to probably the one time I ever have an eyeliner in an empties post.


Onto Feb! It's super cold in Toronto, hope it's warmer wherever you are :)  Let me know if you have tried any of these products and what you thought!

Topbox January 2015 Unboxing

Last month's box was boring, but this box is off to a good start for 2015! Although it seems like the pattern from the last few boxes is now only 4 products per box, rather than 5. 

 

Always up for trying new serums, so it was good to see this from Lise Watier. I haven't tried many products from this brand (last time being their lip and eye primer, which was a terrible product that did nothing). 

Turns out there's 2 inside, one for day and one for night.

 

 Elizabeth Arden day cream with SPF, happy with this as usually EA's skincare does nice things to my skin.

 Now the Eyeko I'm looking forward to try... I haven't had much luck with makeup remover wipes when used on the eyes despite their advertising to be gentle and effective on the eyes (always find traditional biphasic removers much better, like Lancome's Bifacil), so am excited to see if this will perform. Will update this post when I have tested it out on my most waterproof stuff.

A liquid lip and cheek tint by MeMeMe...looks very similar to the Benefit one. I tried both side by side and Benefit's benetint definitely smells better and lasted longer on my arm after washings. However this isn't bad. Overall I prefer these tints on my lips rather than face, because I find if I don't blend quickly enough it's very streaky on my cheeks. Also can easily go from natural to clown without much warning, and can't really blend it out more after that...

 

 The swatch on the right I tried to blend literally right after I put it on, and as you can see the "line" is still clear. This does blend better when placed over base makeup on the face, but like I said above, still not great. I much prefer cream or powders for blushes. 

Here's the product card. I usually never calculate $/worth of the box, but am gonna try it today. So let's see...

Lise Watier - $78 for 2/20mL (sample is 2x3mL, omg I hate math...I think it's $11.70)

Elizabeth Arden - $60 for 50 mL (sample is 7mL... $8.40)

Eyeko - $12 for 10 pcs (full size product, so $12)

MeMeMe - $10 for 12 mL (full size product, so $10)

Total box - $42.10

What did you get your box this month? Feel free to share your links.

A first crack at the ombre lip...

I believe Korea first started the ombre lip trend (but please correct me if this is wrong). I'm sooooo slow on the pickup for anything trendy, so finally thought I'd give it a try.  I used a pinky-mauve lippie all over, then added a traditional red on the inner parts of the lip and blended both together.

Natural lips with clear lip balm

I actually really liked the look, now I get why it got trendy! I felt like it gave me an interesting look, kind of cute and doll-like?  Unfortunately my hubby really didn't like it, said it looked "unnatural". Sigh...men...they don't get us :)

Do you do the ombre lip? I think I will do it more often if I have time, as it does take double as long as I have to pat on another color and blend it.

Illamasqua Eye Brow Cake in Motto - Review, Swatches

Although the YSL Eyebrow pencil remains my HG brow product, the curious part of me that wants to see if anything out there is better always gets me to buy and try other products. I picked up this eyebrow cake during the Illmasqua sale from the Bay. It's a powder cake that can be used dry or activated with Illamasqua Sealing Gel (much like any cake activator, can turn any powder product into a water-resistant liquid). This turns the cake into a gel/pomade like product.

First off, the color is spot on for my brows, actually even closer match than the YSL in #4. I have very dark brown hair, but grey eyebrows (typical for asians). It was smooth and easy to apply dry, and gave a very natural look. When used with the sealing gel, it was more intense but could be applied lightly enough to not be unnatural looking. See photos below. Apologies for the lighting change from my natural brow, but hope it still shows how natural the product looks.

natural brow

Brow Cake in Motto - DRY

with Sealing Gel

Overall, this definitely makes good competition for the YSL in terms of final look. However, this takes waaaay longer to apply because I have to re-dip the brush repeatedly to pick up more product. Because the YSL is a pencil, I can just draw on and go. I have now been using this when I have more time to do my makeup, but can't be bothered with it when I'm rushing in the mornings for work. 

Have you tried any cake products, brows or eyeliners? What did you think of them compared to traditional pencils/gels?