OMG guys. I've been freaking out with excitement over the MAC Maleficent collection and was soooooo ecstatic to review it for We Heart This!!! Click here to see my review & swatches :)
Image from Harper's Bazaar
OMG guys. I've been freaking out with excitement over the MAC Maleficent collection and was soooooo ecstatic to review it for We Heart This!!! Click here to see my review & swatches :) Image from Harper's Bazaar
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Let's take a look at this month's BeautyBox5! The foot buffer is basically am oversized nail buffer. I have zero interest in buffing my feet--when you're a runner, those callouses are there for a reason! Besides, it's the middle of winter--I've been wearing and will continue to wear boots for months :p The good news is that I will totally use to buff my fingernails. Smoothing out the ridges in my nails really makes my mani look a thousand times better! Yes, I'll use it; no, I don't think it's worth $5; no, I'm not using it the way it was intended. It's a tissue. This lotion smells great, absorbs quickly and does a great job moisturizing. But I feel like the price is a bit high for the amount of product. If I'm paying that, I would expect fancier packaging. In any case, you can never have too many travel sized lotions for your purse or actual travel! This is definitely one BB5 item that's going to get used! The lip stain is interesting. It does slightly stain my lips but I didn't feel that it's plumping at all. Also, the formula is thick to a fault--I love tacky glosses but this is actually hard to squeeze out of the tube. The color is alright and the length of wear is alright... it's just not worth the effort. And for $13 I feel like I could get a much better product. The NYX Love in Rio palette looks pretty and fun in the case. But it kind of looked like a train wreck on my lids. I'm usually pretty adventurous with my eye shadow but this looked bad enough that I covered it up with other eyeshadow after taking photos. The shadows are really sheer and powdery/chalky, even with a good primer. While this does come in other color combos, I've tested some of them and was also pretty underwhelmed. Unfortunately, I don't think it's even worth the couple of bucks, and I definitely won't be using it. This Clean & Clear moisturizer was the total dark horse of this box! I don't always use moisturizer because my skin is really oily and acne-prone, so I'm pretty picky. But after using a cleanser that made my face extremely dry and tender after one use, I was so happy that this gel moisturizer soothed my skin without turning my face into a shiny mess. It's affordable and gentle but effective. Definitely a winner! So, out of this month's five product: 1 amazing product that will probably become repurchased, 2 good products that I'll get some use out of, and 2 items that were duds. Three outta five ain't bad.
Have you tried any of these products? What did you think? Beauty Box 5 is a monthly subscription service that delivers five beauty or skincare samples to your doorstep for only $12 a month (and the shipping is free)! Ordering recurring boxes gives you an even greater discount. Let's take a peek at this month's goodies, shall we?! Aveeno Positively Nourishing Calming Body Wash Last month's BB5 also had an Aveeno product. While I think Aveeno makes great products, they're readily available, so getting one in a sample box is kind of a letdown. It has a pleasant sweet, clean smell to it. At least I can use it! Secret Clinical Strength Antiperspirant & Deodorant While this is fantastic deodorant, like the Aveeno products, Secret is so mainstream that it's kind of underwhelming to get this in a sample box. Also, there was supposed to be a manufacturer's coupon for a FREE deodorant, but I didn't have one in my box (there was a Travalo mini atomizer 25% off coupon?). It's a bit more expensive than your regular deodorant/antiperspirant, but if you need the strong stuff, or work out a lot, it's better to just shell out the extra buck or two. FYI: I've heard it's better to apply antiperspirant at night so it has more time to take effect! Body Drench Lip Drench I got this in Coconut Lime. I really like it because the fragrance is "real"... it actually smells like coconut and limes! It's moisturizing too. $4.99 is a little much for lip balm though--that's about twice what I'd prefer to pay. Bellapierre Cosmetics Shimmer Powder I recieved "Ha Ha" which is a royal blue shimmery eye shadow. The color is pretty bold, but it's a fun pop of color on the lower lashline, blended out. While the color isn't the easiest to wear, the texture is smooth and it applies well, without too much fallout for a loose shadow.
Lots of practical products in the November Beauty Box 5! While the Secret deodorant/antiperspirant and Aveeno body wash were a little disappointing because they're not really novel products, they're still very useful, and the cooling mask and lip balm also fit well into the theme of "Prep. Primp. Sparkle."--being ready for whatever the night may bring! As I've said before, while subscription boxes aren't the best use of money for gals who are particular, they can be FANTASTIC for those travelling, or gals looking to try a lot of products without committing to full-sized products.
Lipgloss+Spandex rating: Click on any of the photos to jump over to my review on We Heart This! Left to right: MAC eyeshadow in Daydreaming, MAC lipstick in Sounds Like Noise, MAC nail polish in Riot Girl, MAC Mineralize SkinFinish in Lightscapade [photo from We Heart This] [photos from Marilyn @ Lipgloss+Spandex]
Madd Style Cosmetics is a cruelty-free line of hand-made, richly pigmented vegan cosmetics for animal lovers, glitter junkies, and everyone in between. From "Classic Chic" to "Bold and Unique", we strive to give you "Madd Style". Madd Style Cosmetics loose shadow$5.00 for approximately 1.2 g (sifter jars are filled by volume, not weight)
As with all of Madd Style Cosmetics' loose eyeshadows, the textures of these are smooth and the length of wear is good. The packaging is a small cute sifter jar. Desert Punk and Birf-day Suit are pretty basic shades (they might bore true indie makeup lovers), but they're done well. Mystery Meat is a really fun color to add a little bit of interest to your eye makeup look. It's versatile--you could probably downplay it for work, or go wild for a night out. These Madd Style Cosmetics browns are good stuff. Lipgloss+Spandex rating: Madd Style Cosmetics is a cruelty-free line of hand-made, richly pigmented vegan cosmetics for animal lovers, glitter junkies, and everyone in between. From "Classic Chic" to "Bold and Unique", we strive to give you "Madd Style". Madd Style Cosmetics loose shadow$5.00 for approximately 1.2 g (sifter jars are filled by volume, not weight)
As with all of Madd Style Cosmetics' loose eyeshadows, the textures of these are smooth and the length of wear is good. The packaging is a small cute sifter jar. I LOVE Madd Style Cosmetics--they really do indie loose shadows to the MAX. The greenish shades are especially lovely. All of four of these were quite pigmented even when used dry. Lipgloss+Spandex rating: Madd Style Cosmetics is a cruelty-free line of hand-made, richly pigmented vegan cosmetics for animal lovers, glitter junkies, and everyone in between. From "Classic Chic" to "Bold and Unique", we strive to give you "Madd Style". Madd Style Cosmetics loose shadows$5.00 for approximately 1.2 g (sifter jars are filled by volume, not weight)
As with all of Madd Style Cosmetics' loose eyeshadows, the textures of these are smooth and the length of wear is good. The packaging is a small cute sifter jar. These are pretty shades, but compared to the complexity and depth found in their green shadows, the purples are a little underwhelming. They're still great shadows, they're just not MSC's strongest offering. Lipgloss+Spandex rating: Hello Kitty Head of the Class makeup palette$36.00 for 4 x 0.07 oz eyeshadow and 0.34 oz blush
I love Hello Kitty. I love houndstooth. I love nerdy glasses. So when I saw this on clearance for $17 at my local Sephora inside JC Penney, AND I had the Beauty Insider coupon, I decided that I had to have it. None of the colors have names, but here are my descriptions: Blush:
Eyeshadow:
Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Jungle$24.00 for 0.05 oz. Inspired by Laura Mercier's cult classic Caviar Eye Liner, Caviar Stick Eye Colour offers a new technique to enhance the smoky eye look. This deep forest green color with a bit of shimmer is fabulous. The texture is very smooth and creamy, which allows it to apply without skipping or tugging at my lids at all. The color is deep enough to work as an eyeliner--it's a nice subtle alternative to black or brown. Even with its soft texture, this product stays in place all day, with no transfer onto my upper lid. As an eyeshadow, it works just as well.
Lipgloss+Spandex rating: At Darling Girl Cosmetics we believe that everyone at any budget should be able to have quality affordable makeup. This is why we offer two sizing options as well as samples of many of our products: Petit's (1/4 tsp jars), Full Size (3/4 tsp jar), and sample baggies with 1/8 tsp. At these prices you could buy several jars of our eye shadow for the price of one high end eye shadow with the same great quality. Priced from $2.50 to $5.90, Darling Girl Cosmetics are a very affordable way to try out a wide range of indie products--lip glosses, eye shadows, blushes and bronzers, lip balm, nail polishes, and more! I really like that there are different sizing/packaging options--I was given a few sample baggies and a petit to test out. These are great for those new to indie products, as they have medium pigmentation (which is a little more forgiving), but good length of wear when combined with primer. Unlike some indie eyeshadows, these were decently pigmented even when used dry, but I found them a bit difficult to use as the colors got a little muddy and I found them a little harder to blend than my usual shadows. I love that there's no animal testing, and that there are swatches of every color product. Lipgloss+Spandex rating: Two looks using Darling Girl Cosmetics: |