Tuesday, November 29, 2016

September/October Subscription Product Reviews

It's too late for preamble. Here are some analyses:

September Haul
 
September Ipsy bag

ToGoSpa Undereye Collagen Gel Masks in Green Tea Eyes-I think I like them. Mild tingle, cool texture but without that cooling minty feeling if you hand sensitive skin. I would typically pass on a product like this but it saved my life when I was sick two months ago, if you'll excuse the hyperbole. I had a massive head cold and a pretty hefty headache, all while I was roasting to death from a combination of fever, chills and summertime Chicago humidity so these things were great for cooling my head. They tend to slide though so I find they work best when I'm lying down. I'm half tempted to buy theses and just leave them in the medicine cabinet but I wouldn't have the will power to save them exclusively for that use. They were absolutely useless for reducing redness and bags and dark circles under eyes but then, I never believed this company's claims because, you know, science. 

Glow For A Cause Body Butter in Inspire-I know I said this wasn't my favorite scent because it smells very perfumes and very adult but this stuff is going quickly. I suppose fruit smells are "cheap" smelling but I'll admit I have absolutely zero class and I prefer those to this highly perfumery (with a hint of citrus crispness). 
Update: it's gone. One of the fastest I've blasted through a sample. Blame the cold. It's so expensive though and no better or worse than any hydrating cream or body butter. 

Eyeko Eye Do Liquid Eyeliner-I love how incredibly black this is, but it doesn't glide on as easily as others and it creates a thick line, but I have small, hooded eyes (I think?) and my line goes on a little too thick for my taste. I fail at liquid eyeliners and the learning curve is steep with this one. I must note however that even though this eyeliner brags of being smear proof and waterproof, it is absolutely neither of these two things. A slight rub of my eyes after it dries or a warm day and my eyes have slid straight to my chin. That much said, I still love how black it is. I just wish I did not have the hand dexterity of a two year old with advances Parkinson's. Part of the problem is that it's felt tip and therefore not overly flexible. It's too expensive for me to repurchase for face scribbles and will be designated as a backup at this point. Judge's score: 6.2 out of 10. The dive started out great with the color but somehow resulted in a belly flop, open mouthed with execution. 

Onomie Powerful Priming Serum-I enjoyed the hell out of this serum. It's slightly (ever so slightly) radiant with micro shimmer and very hydrating. It's miles ahead of Too Faced's Hangover primer. I've used it as a serium, which by the way absolutely works, but looking at the cost per unit, I preferred using this as a primer. Even though this performed better as a serum than a primer, I learned that I cannot hold a grudge against all lotion primers. I would never drop $50 for a bottle though, tyvm. 

 Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme-this product grew on me. It did have a mild plumping effect but it does one hell of a job irritating my lips to get to that point. I also find that for maximum effect this needs to be worn alone, and that won't fly going into the winter months. I like it, but I don't think I dislike my natural lips enough (they are pretty full to begin with) to buy this in the future. That and especially with the upcoming months, protective lip balms will interfere with this gloss's efficacy. 

October Haul
 
October Ipsy bag

Trust Fund Beauty Gimme Good Face primer-the makeup gods have heard my prayers. It's a silicone based primer that my face so needs. I love how filling this is. And it came at the perfect time since I finally ran out of my Elf primer which was embarrassingly old. I have to repurchase the Elf primer for two reasons: 1) to see if they've ever updated it the formula and 2) because the Trust Fund Beauty primer is available for pre-order on the company website at $25 for 10mL and there's probably a pretty long waitlist. Incidentally, that's how large my sample was.

Lottie London Perfectly Precise brush-I'm loving this cute little guy. It's smaller than anything I've used in the past so it's crazy precise. That and it's just so damned cute and soft. Bunnies should be made of this brush's fibers. 

October eyeliner-I should shake Kat von D's hand for this one. The brush is not a felt tip but rather "325 bristles in [a] super tight point" and oh my Jesus, is this thing flexible and crazy easy to handle. It is a complete 180 from the Eyeko liner I struggle to use. I could probably still apply eyeliner properly after 5 cups of coffee spiced with more coffee. The only complaint I have is that it isn't the blackest black that I've seen. The product says it is waterproof though and it does resist water well enough. I would buy the shit out of this. 9 out of 10. Points lost for being glossy and not the blackest black, but I would love to try other things in her line.

Pūr~Lisse Daily Lip Nourisher-I can't say no to a lip balm. This lip balm is very hydrating and what I would look for- it isn't sticky or waxy feeling, tastes a little sweet and I love the applicator. I cannot tell you what it smells like but it has a very nice, almost fruity scent.

Cosmoholic Liquid Lipstick in Mysterious Mocha-I'm still enjoying this guy. It's more of a taupe/mauve shade on me than brown) and shiny a f. It is pretty sticky sp I've been patting translucent powder on top to get a matte look. It also solves my problem of never being able to find nude lip colors for my skin tone.

Please excuse the shit/repeat pictures. It's all i have to work with right now.

November Ipsy First Impressions



Not only am I exceedingly overdue for this post, but I only have one shitty photo of my own because a combination of holidays and traveling, life and work have teamed together to kick my ass. I have a couple of equally uninformative posts in the queue also, so let’s jump into this so I can procrastinate on something else. If stock photos and shitty swatches are your thing, feel free to use my my referral code.