I am sure many people have the same problem as me when wearing a lipstick, you're worried about transferring, smudging or always looking for a mirror to touch up! With Lip Lock, it's supposed to lock in your lip colour promising to prevent transfer and extending wearability.
Many know Shu Uemura's popular cleansing oils but did you know Shu Uemura has hair care products? Many people I've shown this too didn't! But you should...o...m...g... you should 😱. Check out my full review below!
p.s I love the packaging, simple yet chic and informative. Yes I am that person right now 💁. Judging a book by it's cover 😝
My friend recently went to Korea and in my wishlist it included cute items (and of course G-Dragon merch♥). One of the items she brought back was the Etude House Bubble Tea Sleeping Pack in Green Tea.
Last year has been the year of the highlights for me. It was when I bought my first highlighter and became hooked. Since then I've accumulated an good variety of highlighter, from powder to liquid to stick format.
A product I heard worked great as a highlighter but was not sold in Canada were the Kiko Cosmetics Water Eyeshadows. Now, back in high school or even college I'd call myself crazy for even thinking of using an eye shadow as face product, but since then I've broadened my horizons and realized just because the packaging says its for the eyes or lips doesn't necessarily mean you need to follow suit. Plus you'll get more use out of a product if it serves a multiple purpose.
The water eyeshadows come in over 20 shades and can be used wet or dry. Mir managed to hook me up with shades Champagne 200 and Light Gold 208. I found them to be highly pigmented, even when used dry. Sometimes I wish cosmetic companies wouldn't make their products so pretty, I had to force myself to start to use them and disturb the beautiful design.
The product felt soft and silky and left my eyes and cheeks glowing. I was however, disappointed with the amount of microglitter there was in the formula. I would've preferred a matte or sheen finish.
Light gold 208 is the gold shimmer (top 2 swatches), dry and then wet. Champange 200 is a taupe shimmer (bottom 2 swatches), seen dry and then wet. When applied wet the shadows are much more pigmented but whether dry or wet the colour payoff is pretty good and I feel is flattering on all skin tones.
I'm not sure when Kiko will come to Canada (currently their website does not ships to Canada). But when I will be traveling to Vegas next year you can bet that I will make a stop at their physical shop.
Demeter is a brand that holds nostalgic memories for me, I remember owning the scent "Fuzzy Navel" in high school and using the fruity fragrance on a pretty regular basis. Since my experience with the brand back in high school they have grown
to include so many interesting and unique scents like Elvira's Zombie,
Clean Windows and Pizza.
"Demeter was conceived in the East Village of New York City in 1996 a
unique point of view about fragrance, a perspective that still remains
unique, but that continues to expand. The original mission was to
capture the beautiful smells of the garden and nature in wearable form.
Consistent with that mission we took the Demeter name, inspired by the
Greek Goddess of Agriculture. The first three Demeter fragrances, based
on that ideal, were Dirt, Grass and Tomato, and were sold in a few
stores in NYC."
The newest release from Demeter are kits with duo or trio cologne sprays that you can mix and blend to create your very custom scent.
It's been a while..but if you've been following my instagram (@_mirch) or Annie's (@anniepolishes).. we're still showing our loves for nails and cosmetics :) Been feeling under the weather right now but I hope these products make you smile. It definitely did when the mail man dropped this off at my doorstep =)
Do you need last minute gift ideas for the holiday (like really last minute)? Well if so, I have a great choice for you!
Crabtree & Evelyn placed their hand creams in an adorable Christmas themed holiday tin. These 3 scents aren't limited and include one of my favourite scents from them - Avocado, olive and basil! The set includes:
Pomegranate, Argan & Grapeseed Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)
Avocado, Olive & Basil Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)
Citron, Honey & Coriander Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)
These tins also come in many different trios. Check out their website (linked below) for more details.
These creams aren't greasy and absorb very well into the skin. Out of the 3, the avocado one was the thickest and pomegranate was thinnest in texture. The citron one was strongest in scent.
This set retails at $29 CAD and can be bought at any Crabtree & Evelyn boutique or online.
Next we have two fall/winter hues of nail polish. Both are in the red category. One is Wine and the other is Cranberry. Cranberry is a brighter, solid red fitting of it's name. A staple in many people's manicure collections. Like my mom's, she quickly asked if it was for her when I opened the package.
Wine is a darker burgundy red.
left: Wine right: Cranberry
Formula wise, they are on the thin side but it allows for smooth application and a fairly quick dry time. I like that these polishes had a thinner consistency yet both only required two coats for full opacity. However, I did prefer a 3rd coat for Cranberry since there was a very faint visible nail line after two coats, not noticeable other than to me because as you may know..I am super picky when it comes to VNL! This is my first time trying Crabtree and Evelyn polishes and I have to say I am quite impressed with their quality of lacquer. They have a huge range of colours to choose from and I cannot wait to purchase more and see how they are. Especially their Black Tulip looks like it would be an amazing duochrome!These polishes retail at $10 CAD but often has deals such as right now (12/23/15) Buy two get one free and can be bought at any Crabtree & Evelyn boutique or online.
Today, I have NYX Matte lipstick in the shade Aria. It looked much darker online and in the tube than it did on the lips. I was hoping for a darker shade but it turned out to be pretty bright. Since I am still experimenting with cosmetics and lip colours, it was pretty scary to wear it and realize how bright it was.
Like most NYX lipsticks, it comes in a basic black plastic tube with a clear plastic middle to show off the colour. It is not good for displaying right up as the name only shows on the bottom.
Today's post features Kat Von D's Poe lipstick. It's described as a shimmery navy.
It's definitely a navy but it's also... I would say bright and eye-catching. It's packed with a fine shimmer/glitter of purple, blue etc.
First off, KVD's packaging always gets me! Stylish with edge. love.. and her logo is beautiful!
Hinted in the name, the package has a slightly raised studded design with the name and colour logo on the top of it. Easy for storage and display (major plus).
The lipstick tube itself also 'studded' with the KVD logo stamped on the top. I forgot a picture of the bottom but it shows the name on a corresponding coloured label.
The lipstick itself is also stamped with a KVD logo. Almost made me not want to use it to preserve the design (Have I told you, I am a sucker for packaging?)
The colour is a deep blue with pink/purple shimmer or fine glitter. In some lights the colour leans burple but on the lips it shows a predominant blue. The shimmer does show up on the lips but not as defined as it is in the tube. The pigmentation is good and the formula is not very streaky but there's a huge con. Due to the finish of this product. The shimmers leave a gritty feeling on your lips. It's quite fine but it really bothers me. Also the lipstick after one use is no longer smooth and also looks super gritty. If you can bypass this, then that's great! But for me, it was a deal breaker. The glitter payoff < the grit. Maybe I kept rubbing my lips due to the grit but it was a bit drying for me. I didn't test for wear because I took it off after an hour or so (sorry).
Natural Light: Left - One swipe / Right: Two swipes
Flash: Left - One swipe / Right: Two swipes
Look at that grit!
With flash, shows the shimmer / fine glitter much better
Dark lipsticks always makes me look super pale haha
Product: Kat Von D Studded Lipstick in Poe
Where: Sephora
Price: $21 CAD
Overall: 3/5 All points are awarded to the packaging and colour uniqueness but the grittiness was too much for me. Although the colour pay-off is good, it wouldn't be a frequent item I would use and for the price tag, the grit would be a deal breaker for me. I could probably find a dupe in a lower price range (without the glitter).
Sorry for the super late post, hectic work schedule + trying to do a video = super fail!
Company description: The revolutionary KISS InstaWave is a fully automatic tangle-free curler that instantly creates beautiful, long-lasting curls with ease (No Need to be a Pro). No longer do we need a professional to style our hair to perfection. Instantly create beautiful, long-lasting curls with just the touch of a button with the KISS InstaWave, a fully automatic tangle-free curler.
pic from walmart.ca
The machine itself looks fairly simple, it has the middle barrel which emits the heat to hold the curl. It has the inner tab which is to to hook the hair in and then the outer tabs which helps guide the hair to the barrel to curl.
It has 2 buttons on the appliance.
The first turns it on to two heat settings (low or high [max 420 degrees])
The second is the curl dial which changes direction of the curl wand.
In the video above, I demonstrate the movements of the machine as I press the directional button.
Then I focus on the button to show the heat settings.
It also automatically shuts off after 90 minutes, but usually I'm pretty good at turning off and unplugging appliances ;)
To use the Instawave is relatively easy. As a first time hair curler it was a bit scary when I had to put the wand close to my head. I didn't want to burn myself! AND because I am so awesome....I wanted to do it with one hand while trying to film with the other.. This was one time I wanted 3 arms! haha
When I first did it, I kept thinking to start near the bottom then it would curl my hair to the top like other automatic curlers but you had to start near the top and it curls in your hair. Once I figured that out, it was much easier.
To start, you turn on the Instawave to the heat setting you want. I chose low to try it out.
(1) I comb a section out and slightly angled, (2) I place it within the inner tab. Then (3) I pick the direction I want and press the curl dial accordingly.
Once the section gets curled up, (4) I hold it for 5 to 10 seconds.
I straighten the Instawave so it's standing vertical and (5) I pull the Instawave releasing (6) my curled hair :)
If I am going out for a long night, I would spritz it with a bit of hair spray.
I let it cool down before combing it through a little..I'm not too good with hairstyles so if you would like to comment below with tips, feel free!!
p.s. even if I hook my hair up in the tab and go the other direction of the curl, it doesn't get caught.. which is a major plus!
The hardest part was really, just hooking the hair into the inner tab and figuring which way you wanted the curler to move! I held each section for about 5-10 seconds (recommended was 3 to 10). I wouldn't hold it in too long incase it burnt your hair off like that girl in that viral video but I was fine with it being in there a little longer. (Can you tell how inexperienced I am by now? haha)
When you plug it in, there is a slight high pitched buzzing sound but the company said it's of no concern. It does get quite annoying though. I think it is because of the circuit which is rotating inside the machine.
I've never had any appliances similar to this so I can't really compare, but for a newbie like me, this Instawave curler is pretty good.
There's a really great video on KISSInstaWave.com which shows a step by step tutorial. It's also what I followed to learn how to do it hehe... Hope my review has helped. I also hoped you like my first attempt at a video (lol!!) Retails for $69.99 CAD / $59.99 USD Available at Target, Ulta and Amazon.com In Canada it is also available at Walmart and Walmart.ca
Hello my lovely readers! Thank you to Brandbacker for this opportunity to review One Direction's new makeup kit. The one I received was called Take Me Home.
There are 3 main collections in this first set, each one coming in a tin with 1D featured on the front sleeve. Inside the tin there are details on what's inside and how to create looks. Click below to check out the one we got! We got the Take Me Home collection (pictured on the left).
Each collection is named after an album & their products named after a song title (cute right?) I know fangirls would totally dig these! I think these are perfect for a 1D fan for the upcoming holidays. Lucky me, I got a more natural selection of products!
Inside the kit, I received: - Liquilights UV Glow Gloss in Kiss You. It's a sheer but buildable orange glitter gloss which glows neon yellow under UV (cool!) - Sheer Lipstick in Last First Kiss. A sheer soft pink lipstick - Mascara in Little Black Dress. An average black mascara - Nail polish in Live While We're Young. A cute holographic shine gold glitter! - Stencils in various shapes - Eye and body crayon in I Wish. A thick medium brown crayon. - Eyeshadow Palette w/
Back For You (Cream Beige pressed shadow)*
Change My Mind (Orange Peach shimmer pressed shadow)*
C'Mon C'Mon (Mushroom taupe pressed shadow)*
Little Things (Chocolate brown pressed shadow)*
Take Me Home (Gold w/ gold glitter creme)*
*my descriptions, the package slightly differs, will address below
Overall: Cute collection especially for the One Direction fans. The sleeve with the members' picture definitely a plus for fans. The icing for this collection is the names! This is coming from a fangirl who used to buy chupachup lollys just because Spice Girls were on it! I was also surprised by the quality of the makeup. It's not high quality but it's decent especially when the target group is for young girls. It's not like the crappy drugstore holiday packages *cough* when you open it, the mascara is dry and all the "cream" eyeshadows are rock hard. That said, the collection is good for a young 1D fan who is just starting to use make up. It's not great for people who already have their routine pretty much set and have a handful of Holy Grail products because nothing from this set particularly stands out other than the eyeshadow palette colour selection. I also like the packaging, it has a brick wall theme, and the packaging of each product also follows the theme. Simple and colourful, great for the target group.
Review of each item:
Sheer Lipstick in Last First Kiss:
Packaging is simple, follows the brick wall pattern and shows the colour at the bottom of the tube. There's a smell to it, I can't describe it but it's not floral or fruity. It's not unpleasant but it's also not great (best description ever right?). It goes on like a tinted balm, quite smooth, not chalky and no build up around the edges. Mine must have gotten warm because the second time I went to swatch again, it came out of place.
left side: 2 swipes, 1 swipe of sheer lipstick. right side: 2 swipes + Kiss You UV Gloss on top, 1 swipe of sheer lipstick
Liquilights UV Glow Gloss in Kiss You: At first, I was turned off by such a vibrant orange glitter gloss. I swatched it on my hand and it was super orange. It's not really my style and I don't like glitter in my gloss. I had bad reactions to glitter glosses from Bonne Bell before! Turns out, one coat, it's quite sheer. Two and it's more orange, but nothing unwearable. It has a really faint fruity smell and goes on smooth. It is not sticky but it has a slight grit due to the glitter. I personally still prefer no glitter in my glosses!
Mascara in Little Black Dress: What to say about the mascara? It's average, had no clumping but it also felt like I didn't put it on. I have short Asian lashes so I like a mascara that really thickens and lengthens. I didn't expect much from this mascara and didn't make any sort of impression on me.
Nail polish in Live While We're Young: Ok, onto the reason why we even blog, nail polish! I can see why any girl would love this. Glittery, sparkly goodness. This polish had even coverage without it being too thick. It has a medium to sparse distribution of glitter. Average drying time, but does not dry smooth. It contains reflective gold (and maybe silver?) large hexes and a sprinkle of rose gold, green, blue and iridescent small glitters. My camera picked it up as a scattered rainbow of colours. Stencils in various shapes: Yeah, I don't know what to do with these. You're supposed to colour it in with the eye/body pencil but no thank you..maybe I'll pass it onto my friend and see if he wants to use it as a spray paint stencil. They are basic plastic cut outs.
- Eye and body crayon in I Wish. Average. I find the brown too "bright". When swatched it's like a bright chocolate but on the eye it's like a mahogany. Very unflattering on me. It looks almost like an orange tinted brown on me. I tried to wear it on my waterline but no way! It looked too much like I had a case of my allergies. I cringed. I tried it as a eyeliner but it's way too thick so I tried it as a shadow. It went on smooth, slightly patchy but another layer is great. I just don't like the colour.. alot. Eyeshadow Palette w/
Back For You (Cream Beige pressed shadow)
Change My Mind (Orange Peach shimmer pressed shadow)
C'Mon C'Mon (Mushroom taupe pressed shadow)
Little Things (Chocolate brown pressed shadow)
Take Me Home (Gold w/ gold glitter creme)
First thing first, brush sucks if I can even call it a brush. On the left is a bristle brush and the right is a foam tip applicator. Look at my swatch pic, the one using the brush is non-existent!! It can't pick up any colour lol. The foam one fared a bit better but still not good! Using my finger was much better!
I really like the colours of this palette, I love neutrals! For starter eyeshadows the pressed powder ones are great. They go on a bit sheer but it's a look I like.
My favourite would be Back For You, the light soft cream colour is delicate and brightens my eyes. On the package it says it's a creme eyeshadow but I beg to differ, it seems like a pressed powder to me? I even dug my nail in each colour to see.. but I don't know. The gold one Take Me Home is a golden creme eyeshadow with a layer of gold glitter on top. Due to this, the application of it is patchy and gritty. You can see it below on its own close up. I don't prefer cremes anyway since I have oily lids, they crease fairly quickly. The other three colours are great and average, nothing I have to point out.
I think the palette is my favourite item from this collection. Soft light neutrals, I can wear many different combinations! Sadly, I tried to do a 'look' with them and due to it's soft pigmentation and bad camera quality it looks like nothing hahaaha! oh gosh I will need to practice on that. My close second favourite is the sheer lipstick + UV gloss combo. Each by itself, is ok but not great. Together they make the best 'everyday' colour (unless you shine a UV light at yourself haha!).
I did Back For You all over as base, with Little Things in the corner. I lined the bottom with Take Me Home and I used my own Stila Liquid Eyeliner for Eyeliner. I used Little Black Dress as my mascara. On my lips I put on Last First Kiss sheer lipstick and layered Kiss You liquilights UV gloss on top. At first I used Change My Mind for the corner but it turned out too light in pictures so I switched to Little Things.
Sorry I've been a bit MIA on the blog, my work schedule has been quite hectic :( & I will be away for a bit later too! But today I have two kits to share with you..
If you've seen my previous post then you know One Direction has been putting out their own makeup line. Continuing in this line..they came out with a trio of lipglosses and a trio of nail polishes.
This is the trio of UV Reactive Colour-Changing Lip Glosses. [Liquilights Glow Glosses]
These are housed in a plastic setting inside a cardboard paper box with a plastic sleeve.
Described as; Liquilights Glow Gloss sparkles brilliantly during the day and illuminates under UV black light after dark. Enriched with natural oils and vitamin E to keep your lips soft and hydrated all day and all night. Gloss can be worn alone for a pop of sparkle and colour, or paired with One Direction creme lipstick for a bolder look
It includes:
Kiss You - Bright orange glitter gloss that glows neon yellow under UV light
Taken - Punch of pink glitter gloss that glows neon pink-orange under UV light
Through The Dark - Electric poppy glitter gloss that glows neon red-orange under UV light
These 3 glosses were part of the kits (from my previous post which showed Kiss You).. They are now packaged together in a small trio.
It's the perfect stocking stuffer for the liploving 1D fangirl. As said before, these liquilight glow glosses are very vibrant when swatched but can be applied lightly to be sheer and then buildable with more layers. The glitter inside the glosses aren't overly gritty but I still prefer them without. It goes on smooth and is not sticky.
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This is the trio of Rock Me Nail Varnishes.
These are housed in a plastic setting inside a cardboard paper box with a plastic sleeve.
Inside includes 3 nail varnishes and 3 nail toppings which are jars of glitter.
Described as: neon UV-reactive nail varnish and UV-reactive glitter nail toppings that add even more sizzle to your mani, for nails that light up day and night. Sprinkle the glitter over wet polish for a subtle accent, or go for the glitz and dip your entire wet mani in mega-watt sparkle!
It includes:
nail polishes:
Happily - UV iced neon blue
Moments - UV neon pink
Diana - UV 3D holographic [sparkle w/ bar glitter]
nail glitter:
Kicks - UV snow cone blue glitter
Not Afraid - UV Electrified pink glitter
Star - UV holo rose silver glitter
Happily + Kicks
Happily is a bright neon blue, in the bottle it looked amazing but was very sheer on the nail. Even after 4 coats it was still sheer. I had to use a white base and even then I had to use 3 coats to get opacity. Once opaque, the blue was quite intense. Kicks is a blue periwinkle micro glitter. The only thing that bothered me was the fact that the glitter was so fine it got everywhere.
Moments + Not Afraid
Moments is a sheer electric pink, it wasn't as sheer as happily though. I used 3 thick coats to get opacity. I paired it with Not Afraid, a neon pink micro glitter and did a ruffian mani. Due to the fine texture of the glitter I found that it got everywhere and was difficult to clean up.
Diana + Star
Diana is a glitter polish with sparkles and holo bar glitter. I paired it with Star, a dusty rose holographic micro glitter. The base colour I'm wearing in the pictures below is OPI Can't Find My Czechbook with Diana sponged on to create a gradient.
Only way to capture the holo was a blurry shot
Here's a look I created with Happily and Moments, they were both quite sheer and worked great to colour in space.
Base colour is Essie Sand Tropaz
They are overall pretty sheer (even at 4 coats you could still see through Happily) It might be best to lay them over something. The glitter is nothing special, just glitter although Star has a really nice holographic shift to it.
I do recommend doing this over old newspaper etc, especially for younger fans.
Even being a huge lover of polish, I prefer the gloss set over the nail polish kit.
It's a cute idea and the colours are fun but the opacity of the polishes are very disappointing. I know usually neon colours have tricky formulas but what kid would put on 5 coats of this?? Not even the biggest 1D fan would spend the time for this.....or would they? lol!
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