Depotting madness - Tokidoki, Too Faced, Bare Escentuals, Lancome, BH Cosmetics

Depotting isn't everyone's cup of tea...so read on only if you want to see some of these destroyed. It is a good stress reliever and allows you to build your own custom palettes after from random shadows from various brands. 

Shu Uemura Eyebrow Pencil Hard Formula - Stone Gray

I've made a couple of online orders from Shu Uemura recently, and am enjoying trialing various products in this neat Japanese line. This eyebrow pencil they are particularly well-known for, and I'm happy to finally have added this to my brow arsenal. 

I bought the shade "Stone Grey". Although I can get away with brown brow colors (as long as they're more ashy/cool-toned browns), I find grey still the most natural looking.

Apparently you can take this to a Shu Uemura counter for them to sharpen it into a "knife" shape, which helps to draw more natural looking brow hairs. I've been using it "as is" though as the nearest counter is quite a trek. 

Here are some comparisons to my other pencils. The YSL remains my HG (previously reviewed here), and is the closest match to my brows. My only complaint about it is that it's super soft and requires sharpening every 1-2 uses.  The Shu, on the other hand, is very hard in comparison (guess should be expected with the name of "hard formula"!). It's been a good two weeks with nearly daily use and I haven't had to sharpen it yet!

From the hand swatches above, it may look like it has less pigmentation (believe me I scraped that bugger on my hand repeatedly and as hard as possible without breaking skin), but in fact Shu advertises that this formula is activated by the oils in and around your brow hairs, so it won't swatch well outside of the brow area. The end result is very natural-looking full brows as you don't end up drawing way outside your natural shape (no sharpie brows with this!).

 My natural brows, as you can see there are some patchy and sparse areas.

My brows filled in with Shu Uemura Stone Grey pencil. It registers with a hint of light brown on camera but in person blends in nicely with my natural brow hairs. 

Overall, the more I use this the more it's starting to compete in my heart for that HG spot! This Shu pencil is very long and hefty, and seems like it's going to last a long time (whereas I'm already on the end of my second YSL pencil in about a year of high frequency use). The downside is that it lacks a spoolie, which may be annoying when travelling since you will have to bring an extra tool. I may just alternate using both...oh the joys of makeup!

Have you tried this infamous eyebrow pencil? What did you think?

Shiseido Sun Protection Eye Cream SPF 32

I haven't bought a full sized eye cream in ages... Mostly because I get a lot of deluxe samples from various places and a deluxe sample of eye cream can last a long time for me! However, with warmer and sunnier weather coming, I wanted to add something I thought was missing in my skincare: eye cream with SPF. 

 

We all put sun protection on our face in the morning for anti-aging reasons, but most of us don't bother with our eyes (at least I didn't). I guess I always figured it's such a small area anyways, or usually I'm wearing sunglasses which should provide some protection. However the more I age and the more I see lines around my eyes, the more I start thinking whether more is needed. So when I saw this product I immediately wanted to add it to my morning regimen.

As you can see it contains both physical and chemical sunblocks.

The tube is nice and sturdy, not flimsy when you squeeze it which is nice. 

 

The consistency is that of a lighter sunblock lotion. I use approximately this amount and it doesn't give me a white cast around my eyes.

This product also advertises to be anti-aging as well as moisturizing of course. I actually find it's moisturizing abilities quite lacking, so if you suffer from dry under eyes you may need another cream as well. After 3 weeks of daily use I haven't noticed any particular changes in my fine lines however I'm hoping this is more for future prevention. 

Do you use SPF in your eye cream? Do you think it's necessary?

Empties: March 2015

Yay empties time! Good chance to do a big chunk of mini-reviews!

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion: It's a good solid lotion...it doesn't do anything extra for my skin other than moisturizing, which is what it advertises. I get lots of deluxe samples of this so won't be purchasing the big one anytime soon.

Estee Lauder DayWear Plus Tinted Moisurizer SPF15: Now this is a very good tinted moisturizer. It goes on smooth and has enough coverage that I don't really need concealer unless there is a big pimple. You can also put another layer on trouble spots to build up coverage without it looking cakey. It also has an amazing cucumber scent. I won't be repurchasing only because I've got way too many other face products to go through. If you're in the market for a tinted moisturizer though I'd recommend this!

Clinique Moisture Surge: I don't get this product...it advertises to be a moisture "mask", however I found this anything but moisturizing. It goes on nice and soothing, but then as it dries makes my skin feel very tight and uncomfortable. It does smooth lines, however it wasn't advertised as a "firming" or "anti-wrinkle" product, which is more of what it does. Won't be purchasing.

Guerlain Maxi Lash Mascara: This was the best smelling mascara I've ever tried! Not that I purposely smell my mascaras, because normally they reek of "chemical", however when using this I catch a lovely whiff of fancy perfume. As a mascara it was both lengthening and volumizing on my dinky lashes. I really enjoyed using this and will consider purchasing the full size product once I go through my massive pile of deluxe mascara samples.

MeMeMe Cheek & Lip Tint: This is a full size product from a previous Topbox, it's very similar to the infamous Benetint, except it doesn't last nearly as long on the lips and smells bad to me. On the face it gives me zero blending time, like it's staying wherever I put it, which is again terrible for me. This obviously isn't empty at all but I have no use for it, and the only place this can go is the trash. Needless to say I don't recommend this. If you like these types of liquid tints go for the Benefit. 

Julep DoubleStep Foot Treatment & Friction Stick: Julep can be really hit and miss for their non-nailpolishes, but this was a very useful product in the winter, when I tend to get dry cracked heels. After I started using this it helped heal some painful cracks and made my heels softer. Will repurchase next winter. 

Lancome Creme Douceur Cream-to-Oil Massage Cleanser: Originally reviewed here. This was a great makeup remover/cleanser and was great for travel since I don't have to worry about oil leaking into my luggage. If you like the feel of oil cleansers, but don't like the messiness of getting it onto your face, this would be an awesome product for you. It comes out as a easily-controllable cream, but turns into a slick oil cleanser once on the face. Will repurchase once I use up more of my cleanser stash. 

Yay to another month, Happy April and hopefully it's warming up to spring where you live! Let me know if you've tried any of these products and what you thought of them!

           

                          

                               

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!