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...

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!