January/February Empties: Junkpocalypse 2017, Rubbish Reviews

I’m never going away over the end of a month again.

Actually, this wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. All things considered.

Bath and Body Works Love & Sunshine Shower Gel – I like the B&BW shower gel formula, and this scent is a really nice fruity one with a touch of sunny floral. My one complaint with this is that once you’ve lathered it and it’s been on the skin for a little bit, the smell changes a little? It gets a bit funky and sickly. It isn’t consistent with all of the shower gels – the two others I’ve used recently haven’t had that- but I have had it with their shower gels in the past. Repurchase? Not in this scent, as nice as it was from the bottle.

Foreo Luna Play – 100 uses goes quickly! I wrote about my thoughts at length over here. In short: I enjoyed it, , but it’s absolutely overpriced. I am now using a Model’s Prefer knockoff device from Priceline that I got in the 40% off skincare sale for a bit over $20, and while it isn’t as nicely shaped, it recharges and it does the same job. Repurchase? No

Innisfree Super Volcanic Pure Clay Mask – This was actually one of my favourite clay masks I’ve used recently. It did such a nice job where I was post-travel congested around my nose and because I didn’t need to use much, it lasted quite a while (I got it in my November Bellabox). I’ve got plenty of clay masks to use up, but I would consider buying this. Purchase? I could see it happening!

I can’t remember what this was called but look! I finished a hand sanitiser and didn’t lose it! That’s never happened before. This one also smelled really good. I’ll miss nice Fortune Cookie Soap Company hand sanitisers.

Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair Deep Conditioning Mask – This was a pretty nice hair mask, but it wasn’t anything exceptional? I can’t pick up any major discernible results. Sorry, Briogeo. Purchase? No

Foreo Day Cleanser – This was fine, and it worked nicely with the actual Foreo. It didn’t foam too much, but it still dried me out more than I’ve come to like from a cleanser. It wasn’t  bad, though, as a cleanser for when I needed to have something on hand. Purchase? Oh, absolutely not. What a pain.

Sunday Riley Good Genes – I also wrote about this in that same Bite Sized Five! I really liked it, but I don’t $154 like it. It’s nice and it makes my skin look lovely. I’m currently using The Ordinary’s Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2%, and honestly, that’s giving me my fix. Repurchase? Maybe one day if I’m a millionaire, but otherwise no, and I kind of resent them charging that much.

Nars Pore and Shine Primer – Definitely my favourite of the new primers Nars launched, but by no means anything worth uprooting my routine and switching to. Honestly, I’ve been loving my NYX Angel Veil primer over everything else. Purchase? No – it’s like $50 and it’s not amazing.

CoverFX Custom Enhancer Drops in Moonlight – I got a sample of this because while they look like absolute magic when swatched, I suspected I’d have next to no use for them and I didn’t want to get sucked in. I was right. It’s a glitter bomb, and yet it somehow sheers out to next to nothing? Repurchase? To play with this kind of thing, I’d want it to be unique or affordable – I’d either wait for the beautiful shifty blue/purple shade, or just go for the cheap Australis alternative.

Monomola Eyebrow Tattoo – This came in a Bellabox and dried out almost immediately. Womp Womp. Purchase? No

Benefit Rollerlash Mascara – I actually really liked this mascara mini! I used this when I was travelling, and I took it on the cruise with me. It did really nicely for separation and curl and some really pretty feathering. Not too natural, not too false. It also didn’t go bad super quickly, which was nice for a mascara. I’ve got enough mascaras to last me for the rest of the year (Do I like the Buxom mascara? I don’t know yet! Am I into Tarte’s Light Camera Lashes? Only time will tell!) but I did really like this. That’s actually why I was so utterly irritated by Benefit’s  They’re Real. EUGH. Purchase? Maybe one day? Not any time soon.

Tarte Gifted Mascara – I’d had this open for a little while, but not that long, so when I went and opened it and it less than three months later and it smelled awful, it was a little disconcerting. It wasn’t a great mascara anyway – it flaked quite intensely. Purchase? No

Estee Edit Pore Vanishing Stick – Slippery, but really effective for getting a good foundation application around the nose. I didn’t use it all over my face, because I was kind of grossed out by the concept of smearing the stick around, and also because I don’t need pore filling on my temples. Purchase? Way too expensive for something that is essentially a fancy silicone primer.

Maybelline Full’n’Soft Waterproof Mascara – I used to adore this mascara, and it’s still absolutely serviceable, but it’s no longer the best of the bunch. I’ve definitely used better. I do love how long it goes without getting super gross and foul, though. Repurchase? If I need a cheap mascara in a bind, this is my go-to. I’m blessed with pretty great lashes, thankfully, so I don’t really need anything that fancy.

Rimmel Super Curler 24hr Mascara – Amazing for volume but borderline clumpy, especially as it started to dry out. A good cheap mascara in a pinch, though, perhaps even more so than Full’n’Soft if I was looking for volume over definition. Repurchase? Maybe one day? I have so many mascaras, it’s ridiculous.

Cetaphil Suntivity Sunscreen 50+SPF – I had a bad reaction to this and walked around with a big old rash on my face for a few days on the cruise. I also got sunburnt, because apparently the reaction negated the SPF. Purchase? No, and please get out of my life.

IndeedLabs Nanoblur – Yeah, no. This was a confusing, slippery, weird product that didn’t do it for me. Purchase? No

Kleenex Anti-Bacterial Wipes – These are anti-bacterial! They wipe! Good stuff. Repurchase? Yes.

Simple Kind to Skin Cleansing Wipes – I was trying to go without these to finish up my Mac wipes, but I hate those so much. These don’t irritate my skin, blah blah, good stuff. Repurchase? Have done.

Daiso Cotton Puffs – These are fine? I prefer the Target Cosmetic Pads,even though you get more with these because you get two boxes for like $3. I felt like they broke apart really easily. Repurchase? No

Target Cosmetic Pads – My favourite cotton rounds. I keep trying others and then remembering why I use these. Repurchase? Every time.

Brite Pastel Green Dye – I used this to attempt to brighten up the ends of my hair before I completely bleached and re-dyed my hair, and it was surprisingly effective. It took even on parts of my hair that weren’t already blue? Not extremely, but decently. Not as effective as the best thing, which is the full re-bleach. I got my hair bleached and re-dyed back at the beginning of February, and I feel like myself again. Repurchase? If I was home dying, sure.

EyePro Eye Makeup Shields – I rolled my eyes a bit when this came in my January Bellabox, but it was nice to not deal with fallout on a heavy eye makeup day. It was a weirdly rounded shape, though. Purchase? No

Neat 3B Action Cream – Such a boring workhorse product and nothing to do with beauty, but holy shit, I cannot live without a tube of this stuff. I keep one in my bedroom, one in my bathroom, and one in my travel bag. It’s the only thing that helps the chafing  I get on my inner thighs (aka the dreaded “Chub rub”) which has been deadly in this long hot summer. You can also use it for boobs (another chafe zone for me) and anywhere else that tends to rub, but it’s excellent as a preventative and then as a soothing agent. Repurchase? I will literally never stop using this.

And now all the Body Shop stuff! Yikes.

Camomile Cleansing Butter – This is a bit of a cult product and for good reason. It’s non irritating and gentle on the eyes and excellent as a first cleanse to remove makeup.My skin is mostly reactive when it comes to cleansing, so I’m really grateful for this stuff. I haven’t used this to clean sponges, but apparently it’s great for that too. Repurchase? I tend to alternate between this and the liquid form, based on what’s in stock and what my skin is doing. At the moment I’m using the liquid, which is admittedly a little easier, but I find it’s slightly less effective. Very little, but there is something. It is also a touch lighter in liquid form, but I find I go through it quicker (which is not saying much – I take about 9 months to finish a tub?). I’ll keep using it in some form.

Vanilla Chai Shower Gel – Why did I only buy one of these shower gels? I used up a mini in my November/December empties, and now this, my lone full size. It was so beautifully scented and I wanted to use it so liberally but I tried to be a little bit restrained. It was also really nice and hydrating, not too sweet, a little spicy, just lovely. Repurchase? Bring Back Vanilla Chai All Year Round.

Pinita Colada Shower Gel – My two favourite shower gels! I’m so glad this stuck around for a few extra months and I managed to get some extra backups. It’s just the perfect summery shower gel. Not too sweet or too coconutty. Repurchase? Thankfully I have two left.

All in One Face Base 04 – This is a really nice powder. It’s not too matte, which is ideal, but it still stops excessive shininess. I do wish it was slightly better at bringing shine down for touch ups, but it’s still pretty good. It’s not flat at all, which is great. Repurchase? Yes.

Tea Tree Face Mask – I’ve had this for so long, but the tea tree stuff is way too intense for me now. I’m so devoted to the Ginseng and Rice mask that forcing myself to use this up was a pain in the ass anyway. It’s almost too effective at bringing pimples out – I find I tended to wake up with whiteheads all over the place. Repurchase? No

Vanilla Chai Body Butter – Second verse, same as first. As if I need more body butter, though. Repurchase? No

Colour Crush Lipstick in 125 Crazy Sexy Crimson – I finished a lipstick! Who’d have thought? I’m not usually one for cream formulas, but this is a lovely colour and I reach for it all the time. It also suits so many different complexions? I love it so much. I’ve bought a replacement. Repurchase? Have done.

Peppermint Foot Scrub – This is fine and works nicely on my gross retail-worn feet, but I’m really lazy. If I could be bothered to use this consistently it would be much more effective. Repurchase? If I can get it, I’ll take it, but it’s not something I’ll seek out.

Drops of Youth Liquid Peel – I’ve never seen the appeal (heh) of these peeling gels, but now I’ve established that most manual exfoliation is too much for me, I kind of get it. It has a really strong smell that I’m not into, and I don’t like the false idea that these scrubs are peeling off just dead skin (Here’s a great post over at Lab Muffin on that). Still, it’s quite an effective one. I’ve since been feeling the other ones launched, and I prefer the texture of the Drops of Light one, which is much more liquidy and feels lighter. I wish this, the Drops of Light and the Vitamin C ones weren’t all so similar. Purchase? No

Next time? Probably just one month.

Next up in posts, I’ve got a lot of new lipsticks to write about (Smashbox Always On! Winky Lux! I should write about those Sugarpill ones!) and probably a semi-spur of the moment post about the intersections of gender, sexuality and makeup that tends to come around Mardi Gras. I’ve done those before, but they evolve, and it never ceases to be an important topic that I get very easily passionate about. Plus, surely you’ll want to see whatever glittery abomination of makeup I end up in.

 

 

Lust Have It February 2017 – Unboxing and Review

Any progress is progress. Compared to the subscription-ending, final-straw Bellabox I just got, I think my reviewing matrix is skewed.

Before I go into the products, can I comment on the bag? It’s barely relevant, but it’s so cute. Take the “lust have it!” off it, and it’s the platonic ideal of a makeup bag.

Lots of options in here! I got the lesser option of most of them, but that’s okay.

Revlon Colorstay Nail Enamel (RRP $9.95 but this is an older formula and I found it for $3.95 and it seems to sell for around $5 most places; this is the shade 030 Calla Lily) – Honestly, this is a lovely formula. I’m a big fan of the current iteration – the Colorstay Gel Envy – but this is quite nice, considering it’s discontinued. I thought this was the Gel Envy, so this discovery has kind of harshed my vibe. What a shame I got a semi-sheer opal shade called Calla Lily, rather than an opaque shade I might actually wear. Someone will use this, though. It’s surprisingly pretty at two coats, but it picks up blue from my hair really easily.

ETC Lipstick (RRP $2; I think they’re phasing this brand out overseas? The shade I got is called”True mango”) – I’m over getting this brand. The eyeliner last time was alright, and at least shows up on the Gosh Copenhagen website, but this lipstick seems to be untraceable online and it’s one of those typical cheap greasy lipsticks, in a weird coral neon orange lipsticks.

Anatomicals Lilac Body Lotion (100mL; 200mL full size retails for $8 apparently) – I like this brand and it’s a good size for a body lotion. Those a good comments! I’m not so into the smell of lilacs, but it’s not horribly offensive.

Hola Sheet Masks – DuWhite Masque and Honey Anti Wrinkle Masque (RRP $25.95 for five packs of each, these are just one of each) – Neither of these specific needs are mine, “whitening” or anti-wrinkle, but face masks are good to have around. I mostly just give them to friends who like using them, because I’m more of a full on face mask gal. I wish we could have had one normal product to try rather than two sheet masks, but whatever. This is decent, and these are actually still available for sale.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream (15mL Sample – 50mL is $24.95) – This is a good size sample of a decent product, and it’s not too old either – the batch code is a fairly recent one. If you got one of the Oils of Life minis, you’re one of the lucky ones – that stuff is beautiful, and I use it all through winter, so a little one for travel would have been lovely. This cream isn’t one that agrees with my skin, for some reason, but I know a lot of people who adore it and I’ll pass it on to one of them.

Sasy n Savy SPF Skin Firming Creme (Part of the “Bath and Body mixed samples, but it’s not listed as an option? It appears to be worth $6 on the website) – I find it hard to get past the strong smell of peppermint – why do people put peppermint in day creams? – and it’s got that weird texture I’m not into, where it’s heavy but too fast absorbing. I also tend to be wary of anything that claims to be firming, honestly. This brand has some okay products that I’ve tried, but this isn’t for me. I’ll try it? We’ll see.

Reading those individually, this seems not great. It’s compared to past experiences that I’m excited at the improvement, and I’m willing to give Lust Have It…another month. Let’s see. I’m still disappointed in the lack of availability of certain products and the seeming outdatedness, the occasional clumsiness in curation, but I do appreciate the mix of things.

Bellabox January 2017 – Unboxing and Review

I feel like I start all of these reviews with disappointment. Sad trombone noises, womp womp womp, you know the drill. I thought I’d give Lust Have It the axe, especially if Bellabox had themselves together this month, but I’m thoroughly underwhelmed. Let’s discuss.

Maybe I was being too harsh in my opening statement. There’s dollops of potential here, and my sighs don’t necessarily indicate that. Sadly, potential doesn’t always equate to a good box.

BB Summer Shimmer Trio (I got the Unicorn trio, RRP $9.95) – I love highlighters, especially pastel tones, so this is a nice item in theory. I did get the shade I would prefer as opposed to the golden trio, not that the name is mentioned anywhere on the actual packaging.  Where the theory falls down is that in Bellabox’s foray into cosmetic manufacturing, they’ve entirely prioritised hitting a trend over creating a usable, quality product. They have that distinct kiddy makeup texture, really greasy with lots of glitter, not to mention the accompanying toy makeup smell. The lightest shade, a pearl, is all glitter and has no base in pigment (the other two are slightly better). They blend out to indistinct glitter and disrupt base makeup so really only work on bare skin. I wish this had been a powder formula, where even the worst are easier to repurpose, or a little more thought had been given to the actual texture and workability of the product.

Cetaphil Suntivity SPF50+ Liposomal Lotion (100mL retails for $19.05 and this is 10mL so around $1.90) – I love getting sunscreen in boxes. I like how this is packaged – it’s got a proper lid for multiple uses – and I appreciate that it’s SPF50. The only dampener on it is that I’ve actually received this sunscreen in a Bellabox before, and that one was a full size. I imagine this is a convenient size for short term travel – I might take it away with me at the end of the month – but I have a lot of sunscreen, because I live in Australia.

Skinny Tan Gradual Tanner (Full size 150mL; RRP $29.95) – This is a high value item, but I’m always automatically irritated by things that use “skinny” in their marketing. Like…this is a gradual tanner. All that’s “skinny” about it is the inclusion of guarana, so you’ve got a bit of caffeine I guess, and that a tan does help to smooth over the appearance of cellulite. As someone with plenty of cellulite, I don’t care, and I’m not won over by marketing that targets a fear of being overweight to make money (see: skinny teas) or the implications of my my body being awful and wrong. I have, however, been looking for a gradual tanner to help even out all the pigmentation on my legs, and this one smells like coconut. Hopefully it won’t work out a streaky mess on me the way the Jergens did.

Klorane Shampoo with Camomile (I am no longer placing values on these but they are 25mL and the full size is 200mL for $13.95) – You lose value with omnipresence. The more of these I acquire, the less likely I am to use them. A shampoo without a conditioner is a weird thing to send, they’re too small for travel, and they’re basically just things that overrun my drawers.

EyePro Eye Makeup Pad (a ten pack is $14.95; this is one set so around $1.50) – I’m vaguely interested in the idea of a product that gets me a straight wing without me having to hold something to my face, but also protects from fallout. Would I pay for it? Absolutely not.

Maybe I was too harsh. I feel like it was better than I made out initially. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just cancel them both? One more month? Why am I doing this to myself?

November/December Empties (Or: Too Much Junk)

I was away over the end of November and so this stack of garbage built up and my god, there’s a lot. I’m also in a pretty rubbish mood because New Year’s Eve is famously a trash night designed to be filled with disappointment and make me feel inferior, so let’s get this show on the road. Yikes.

Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturising Cream (Skin Cooling Effect) – This big tub lasted for an extraordinarily long time, because it’s mainly a cream I use when my skin is irritated in warmer weather. The cooling effect is quite nice, not too extreme, but definitely noticeable. It’s great when I’m amidst heat rash or other kinds of grossness. Repurchase? Maybe, when I have a few less moisturisers

Lush Bubbly Shower Gel – There’s usually one Christmas shower gel from Lush that I really gravitate towards (RIP Glogg, Hot Toddy, Ponche), but this year I was kind of underwhelmed. I also am starting to find the formula more and more drying? Maybe my skin is getting used to the time off. I bought Bubbly just to get it, and it was way too one-note for me, just straight up citrus. Also, Lush shower gels are…not cheap. I’ll still buy limited editions, but I’d rather they just brought back Glogg. Repurchase? No.

Bath and Body Works Pretty as a Peach Foaming Scrub – Loved the formula of this, am kind of hooked and wish I bought more because I feel like it’s really easy to go through quickly, which was a major downside. It’s also not super intense, and I do feel like I need a bit more sometimes. I wasn’t a huge fan of the scent – the peach was a bit perfumey – but I like the way it foamed and spread and exfoliated. Repurchase? In other scents, if the only Bath and Body Works wasn’t at the airport.

Bath and Body Works Frosted Coconut Snowball Shower Gel – I needed a little shower gel for Hawaii and this was the summeriest Christmas smell I’d ever come across. It’s a really lovely one and I’m definitely a fan. The bottle also lasted for a decent amount of time. Repurchase? If it were available to me in full size easily and I ever needed shower gel, sure.

Herbal Essences Moroccan My Shine Conditioner – I have no comments on this conditioner, which was fine and worked for travel. My hair eats up shampoo and conditioner, it turns out. Repurchase? Not particularly

OGX Coconut Milk Shampoo and Conditioner – These were also fine and worked okay, but I similarly went through them very quickly in Hawaii where I was washing my hair very frequently. On the bright side, these smelt amazing. Repurchase? Maybe for shorter, less swimmy travel stints.

Bath and Body Works True Blue Mini Foot Butter – Needed some foot cream abroad, where my feet were garbage and dry and gross. This worked fine, nothing spectacular. Smelt nice. Repurchase? If it was necessary and the nearest available foot cream

Dermal Heel Balm Platinum – Another mini foot cream. I swear I have normal feet. This was from a subscription, and it was actually pretty good. I preferred this to the B&BW one. Still not a miracle worker for travel torn feet, but good. Purchase? Maybe

Ouai Treatment Masque – From the Sephora Favourites box of hair treatments, because my hair was another thing that took a real beating from sun and sea water and constant washing. This one was pretty nice, not my favourite that I used, but it smelt good and my hair felt soft afterwards. Purchase? No

Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads – My skin just doesn’t like glycolic acid, it seems. This, pixi glow tonic, Paula’s Choice AHA…it’s just a recipe for breakouts, regardless of how consistently I use them. This was the closest we got to decent. Still, not a step I feel like my skin needs. Purchase? No

Bobbi Brown Smoky Eye Mascara – Wasn’t a huge fan of this one. It tended to flake a bit on me after a few hours, and it didn’t do anything of exception to my lashes. Purchase? No

Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer – I was not a fan of the sample of this primer I tried long ago, but my decision to splurge on a travel size to take overseas with me was such a a good move and a different experience. I guess now my skin is less congested and covered in breakouts, I appreciate something that just smoothes the skin and boosts foundation. I don’t need the same leveling from a very siliconey primer that I do when I’m going for a full base and when breakouts are bad. Repurchase? Maybe, but I don’t know if I could bring myself to do the full size!

Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper – I’ve said this a million times, but I love this liner more than any other liner I’ve used. The Physician’s Formula one can’t hold a candle, the Stila one flakes right off – until the day someone else has a brush tip this precise with a formula this black and longlasting, I’ll be using this liner. It’s $30 in Australia, which pisses me off, but mine last for months. I picked up a replacement in a Sephora Favourites set in the US. Repurchase? Obviously.

Rimmel Colour Precise White – This liner dried out after one use. Get absolutely wrecked. Repurchase? Go to hell.

Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk Foundation – Such a good lightweight foundation for medium coverage, easy makeup days. So expensive, such a splurge, and really not a neccessity but…Purchase? If you can justify it? Sure. I bought it for $45USD on a fluke and I do not regret it at all.

Mac Pro Longwear Waterproof Foundation – This stuff sucks on my skin. It never sets and feels sticky and gross and looks inorganic and weird. Purchase? No

This Works Deep Sleep Plus Pillow Spray – This stuff was a little too strong, but I like having something soothing to spray on my pillow before I go to sleep, and the scent blend here is definitely soothing. I prefer the original version, which I’m using right now, because it’s less  intense. Repurchase? Not this version

Sunday Riley Good Genes – This stuff doesn’t smell great and logically, it’s not the most amazing based on ingredients, but my skin is really loves it. Purchase? Already have.

Simple Kind to Skin Cleansing Wipes – These are the cleansing wipes that I use when I use wipes, and they are good. They don’t hurt and they get stuff off, though I need extra to get off heavy duty eye makeup and I would avoid overusing makeup wipes where possible because they rarely get it all off. Repurchase? Always

Lush Fireside Soap – Where I hated the last Lush Christmas soap I had, this one smells much more my style. Very spicy, wintery, clovey. I love it. I don’t use these soaps for much other than my hands, but my family complain that they don’t lather much. Repurchase? Probably

Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Balm-to-Oil Pre-Shampoo Masque – Really liked how this one from the Sephora set made my hair feel, but it was a pain to use and difficult to saturate my hair with, considering how much hair I have. Purchase? No

Those are just some cotton rounds from rite aid and I didn’t like them at all, one side didn’t absorb any product and the other was “exfoliating” but actually crap.

Daiso Cotton Puff – I liked these but I went through them pretty quickly. You get 180 for about $2.80, though, which is a great price. Repurchase? Sure

CLab &  Co Coffee Scrub with Coconut – I actually really liked this, in spite of the coffee smell – I hate coffee. That said, it made my skin really smooth. It was incredibly messy, though, which was irritating – because it has no real oil base to it or any kind of viscosity, it just falls around everywhere. Purchase? No, but I did enjoy it.

And now, Body Shop stuff. Yeah.

The Body Shop Aloe Vera Calming Cream Cleanser – This is my go to cleanser, and I’ve been using it for years. I go through it quicker now, because my sister has decided that she loves it as well. It’s non irritating, doesn’t dry out my skin (I use it in the shower, even though it’s designed to be used on dry skin), doesn’t sting my eyes. I use a more intense cleanser if I’m following up an oil makeup remover to double cleanse, but this is my everyday go to. Repurchase? Constantly.

The Body Shop Papaya Shower Gel – A really lovely summery smell. Some places still have it in their sale stock, and while it isn’t my favourite Body Shop smell of all time, it’s definitely a great one. Repurchase? If it comes around again as a limited edition, sure.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Cream (sample) – This stuff is fine, but I just so much prefer the aloe vera creams. They’re much more soothing. My absolute moisturiser is the Drops of Youth moisturiser, weirdly, which I also finished a tub of but forget to take a photo of – much lighter, but still as moisturising and makes my skin look lovely and feel great. Purchase? No

The Body Shop Tea Tree Facial Wash (sample) – This used to be my jam as a young teenager, but it’s way too intense for me now. Just dries me out. It was nostalgic to revisit it, though. Purchase? No

The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation in 024 Hawaiian Macadamia – Man, look at this beat up foundation.  I thought I was developing a form of stockholm syndrome for it when I started to wear it all the time, but it turns out my preferences in foundation have just changed quite a lot in the second half of this year. I really like how natural this is, with medium coverage and a really natural weardown over the day. Repurchase? I already have a new bottle on the go.

The Body Shop Moisture Foundation in 06 – This is too dark except in summer, but it’s also a formula that my skin hates. It looks so good on so many people, but on me or on people who – in my experience applying it – have any kind of combination, flakiness or oiliness to their skin, it picks up on those things and amplifies them. I also find that instead of wearing down naturally, it gets patchy and cakes over the course of the day. Repurchase? No

The Body Shop Calming Aloe Toner – Even this tiny bottle – no longer available – took several holidays and hospital stays to finish up. It’s a good toner, very basic but soothing. Nice after a non-cream cleanser especially. Repurchase? Can’t get this size any more, but I have a bottle on the go and a backup ready. After that I’ve got a Muji generic toner to try out, which is super affordable and in a huge bottle that would enable me to not buy for months. If that works for me, it would be nice.

The Body Shop Vanilla Chai Shower Gel – This smell from Christmas is incredible, and naturally it sold out almost immediately. If you can find any of this in the remains of the boxing day sale stuff, I’d definitely recommend picking it up, because it smells flat out like a vanilla chai latte and I am the whitest girl that ever did live. I did manage to snag a full size of this, which I’m excited to use up later on in the year. Repurchase? Hey Body Shop, listen to the sales statistics, bring back Vanilla Chai.

The Body Shop Super Volume Mascara – My go to work mascara, does the volume and the curl for me. A little clumpier than some others, like the Divide & Lengthen, but I like the volume and I’ve been enjoying layering it with Benefit’s Roller Lash for separation. Repurchase? Have done.

The Body Shop Skinny Felt Tip Liner – Nice for filling in the line and for day to day stuff, but I wish it was a little more flexible and god, I love brush tips for the wing. I’m so spoilt by the Kat Von D tattoo liner. I still use this liner for everyday stuff, but it dries out quite quickly and it could be blacker and easier to work with, despite being better than a lot of the options I’ve tried. Repurchase? Have done.

Alright! Now I’m off to go and wallow in some misery and loneliness and maybe put some more turquoise in my hair so that my laziness induced regrowth looks more like an intentional balyage.

 

Bite Sized Five – Things I bought abroad

Obviously, I bought a lot of things in the USA. I did elaborate on some of my thoughts on the products in that gargantuan post, but I’ve been using some of the products for longer and with greater frequency, and a lot of thoughts have really had a chance to form about some things. A couple of the products here have been in my daily rotation, and others are super buzz-worthy at the moment, so it felt like as good a time as any to bring back the Bite Sized Five.

Milk Makeup Tattoo Stamp (Star) – This feels like such an obvious novelty product that it must exist already (and a quick google tells me AliExpress has them in spades), but for someone who likes to do graphic liner and has arthritis induced unsteady wrists, I appreciate the ease of eyeliner stamps. I’ve expressed my feelings on Milk’s gimmicky deal and Cool Girl aspirations before, but I’ve drawn stars with liquid liner before, and it’s downright irritating. As to the formula of this, it’s great as a stamp, but I would hate it as a felt tip because it’s hell to remove. Getting this off takes bioderma, an oil and some more bioderma. It stains blue. It’s great for specific looks and special occasions, but wow.

Sunday Riley Good Genes – While I was in America, my skin was utter trash. I’m putting it down to travel and disruption to my usual routine, mostly. That said, my skin is now the literal best it has ever been. I have about one pimple going on and this has never happened. Is it the return to routine? Back to the BHA exfoliation? Probably. I’ve also started using Good Genes every night. That, and cleansing with a Foreo. The only actual changes. I don’t know whether this Sunday Riley product has anything to do with how fantastic my skin looks and feels right now, but I’m too hooked on my skin looking good to change anything. Feeling it. It doesn’t smell great, but it feels nice and it’s gentle and it doesn’t break me out.

Mac Extra Dimension Skin Finish in Soft Frost – I love highlights that aren’t super glittery and have something a little different about them, and Soft Frost fits the bill pretty perfectly. It is ridiculously expensive – though fairly priced against the US, unlike a lot of MAC products – but it is giant, and it has that really lovely pink/blue shiftiness. I appreciate the lack of large physical glitters because when you have a shift like that, I don’t think you need all that extra highlighting of skin texture or flashiness. I also like that I can layer this over a cream product (which I’ll mention below) or even just build it vs. diffused application with my Smashbox fan brush to really decide how dramatic I want it to be. This was a splurge purchase, but it’s not one I regret.

Milk Makeup Holographic Highlighter – I don’t like cream cheek products. I knew this was a gimmick – that’s Milk’s whole thing. I know that “holographic” is a buzzword and I resent it and I hate that this was sold out everywhere and I had to snatch this up as the last thing on a display. I hate that it’s a product that works best over bare skin. And yet – on a bare skin day, slicking this on and looking vaguely alien? It’s all base, little shift, but it’s so very cool. I hate it, but I love it. Hard to get precision, and of course it will shift around anything you use beneath it, and it blends away to nothing if you properly blend at it, but when you just swipe it on and pat it with your fingers? Such a strong look. Dust some Soft Frost over the top and you too can be a fairy goddess.

Foreo Luna Play – Now it is absolutely not necessary to spend buckets of money on a device with which to wash your face. I am terrified of the Clarisonic, which looks genuinely painful to me (she of delicate, sensitive skin and easily broken capillaries), but I was intrigued by the Foreo and its more-than-passing-similarity to a vibrator. Indeed, it feels really nice to cleanse with, but it won’t foam anything up – it’s more like a soft exfoliation, which is great when manual exfoliation is too much for you a lot of the time. This one doesn’t recharge, which is irritating, because the size is super convenient and I appreciate how sanitary it is (a major turnoff with the Clarisonic, for me), so I doubt I’ll be rushing to repurchase it. That said, my skin is – as I mentioned – looking and feeling fantastic right now. I’d be hugely shocked if this happened to have anything to do with it, but if it did, it’s an investment I’d be willing to make. I cannot believe I’m washing my face with what is essentially a vibrator.

That’s five of them, but I’ll continue using stuff and talking about it. I’ve definitely got some feelings on some products I’ve been reaching for.

 

October Bellabox 2016: Unboxing and Review

Receiving a subscription box on the 4th of the next month is not ideal. I’m not sure whether everyone got it late or whether I was one of the few, because by the time it got to me, all of the contents had been well and truly spoiled on the Bellabox instagram.

It was a case of being spoiled by the spoilers, I suspect. We knew we were all receiving a lip product and there were three possibilities: the Laqa & Co chubby pencil, which I’ve received in a box before; the UB Cosmetics tint stick or a Shanghai Suzy lipstick (!!!). Did I allow myself to hope for the Shanghai Suzy offering? Perhaps.

Let’s unpack.

Universal Beauty Cosmetics Tint Stick (RRP $19.99) – So of course, I got the tint stick. This is probably a more “universally” appealing product. I enjoy Shanghai Suzy lipsticks because of the intensity of pigment, whereas this one is all about delivering a pop of colour through that marker application that goes on thin and without being too much. It’s nice, but it’s not me at all. I also hate the marker style lip tints, which are notoriously fast in drying out and messy on application, but I do commend this for the flexibility of the tip and for actually transferring colour to the lip without being a thick, glossy product. I don’t know how often I would use this, but I did swatch it on my otherwise bare face:

Pretty, but for my longwear colour, I prefer a little bit more of a high impact than this subtle stuff. I can definitely see the appeal.

Skin Republic Brightening Vitamin C Mask (RRP $7.99 – 1 mask) – I’m not hugely into sheet masks and I am perpetually wary of products boasting Vitamin C as their main claim, because I tend to be pretty easily reactive. I have had success with low concentrations, and I’m certain that  this falls into that category, but I also very rarely can be bothered with sheet masks apart from after hospitalisations or plane rides.

Neon & Co Leave In Ampoule Shot (RRP $10.00; full size)- I’ve never used an ampoule for hair, so I’m keen to try this. It smells beautiful, and I still have the tiny bottle of hair oil from this brand I got in an earlier box that at the time, I wasn’t into, but have since become a bit of a fan of.

Cetaphil Daily Advance Ultra Hydrating Lotion (Full size RRP is $9.95; this is 10mL so worth a little more than $1) – I appreciate that this lotion is fragrance free (thanks for acknowledging my gross sensitive skin) but it’s so boring that I might change my skin type on my profile so I stop endlessly receiving cetaphil and physiogel over and over. Just for some variation (and to see if it actually changes anything). It says non-greasy, but it’s that weird light texture that feels oddly slick on the skin like the Avene, that I hate.

Batiste Dry Shampoo (50mL RRP $4.95) – I received my least favourite Batiste scent – Cherry – but this is my favourite dry shampoo because I am bad at hair it’s great to keep it presentable in between washes. It’s the best I’ve found for actually managing oil (vs. ones like the Klorane), regardless of white cast, which I find easy to work through. It’s a great size for travel.

Dermal Therapy Heel Balm – This is on the card as a bonus, but it’s nearly a 30g sample tube and I’m always here for a good size foot cream sample because my feet are always gross. I’m going to Hawaii later in the month, so I need to get them looking good.

The card also mentions the Virgin Wine Club discount card, which I rolled my eyes at several times. I’m happy with cheap moscato that tastes like juice, thank you.

Not a bad box, despite my initial disappointment over the lack of Shanghai Suzy lipstick. Weirdly, I’m most happy with the hair product and the foot cream, which were not the big draw cards of the box. The lip tint might come in handy for low maintenance days like today,  and I’ll probably end up taking the dry shampoo on overnighters. Not so keen on the Cetaphil or the Vitamin C mask, but no box hits all the targets.

I will say, the sneak peaks I’ve seen for the next box – that I saw before this one arrived – actually seem pretty good. It looks like a few Innisfree products, which I’m keen to have a play with, and then one from a selection of Luma cosmetics products. Knowing my luck, it might be a lip gloss, but it’s always nice to have a nice broad spoiler category like that. I’d give this box a solid 3.75/5. Yeah, we’re rating in quarters now. It’s happening.

Lust Have It October 2016 – Unboxing and Review

Can I blame terrible, terrible photos on the fact that I’m undergoing a particularly stressful and traumatic time in my life? I’m going to do it anyway. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I was initially extremely taken aback by this box. The combination of brands and packaging was not promising. It’s a lot of brands that Lust Have It defaults to, things I’ve moaned about before, and box pet peeves.

Thankfully, the initial irritation faded out into a pretty overwhelming satisfaction on the backs of a couple of surprisingly lovely products. I didn’t get a photo of the info card, but I’ll include the prices and pertinent information. I’ve also done what I did a few months ago where I check the products information against the website, which did result in additional grievances I probably would have been able to  live in ignorance of.

Colour cosmetics swatches, first up!

mPrincess Melting Maple, ETC Pure, Medusa’s Makeup Loverboy

mPrincess Mineral Eyeshadow (in the shade Melting Maple; full size; RRP $16.99) – I’ve received a blush (I adored it) and foundation powder (surprisingly okay) from this brand before, so while their quality has been consistent, I wasn’t excited by the eyeshadow sneak peek. That said: this shade, Melting Magpie, is stunning. It is like molten copper. Loose shadows are not normally my thing, but thankfully it adheres beautifully – this is a dry swatch – and it’s definitely a colour I reach for, despite my reluctance to use loose shadows. My only gripe with this? The discrepancy between the product shot of this on the website and how it looks in person. Usually, I don’t mind that too much, but come on:

“Melting Maple”

Like…are those even supposed to be the same thing? Come on.

L’oreal Infallible Makeup Foundation (Random valueless mystery item, of which I was given “Golden beige” which is hilarious) – I’m not really going to comment on this, and I’m fairly sure this foundation is in completely different packaging now. How old is this weird foil sample?

mPrincess Small Eyeshadow Brush (RRP $19.50) – This feels like a pretty standard synthetic small shader brush, but it is nice and soft. For what it’s worth.  I will always take brushes. The description does say that it is flatter and more precise than the medium eyeshadow brush, which doesn’t appear to exist on the website. So. You know.

ETC Lip Liner (I got 004 Pure; full size; RRP is apparently $4) – I don’t think this product actually exists anymore. The website they list on the card is the Gosh cosmetics (the other drugstore brand that’s been popping up recently as “coming to Australia) website for Denmark (???), which only has the Gosh cosmetics liners in their lip liner section. To actually find this liner, I needed to independently search for this product name, which has had all product information erased (it still exists cached) and isn’t categorised. It’s a real shame, because this liner is actually a really pretty nude-y rose colour. I tried it on – although that’s not what the “safe not sorry” caution would be, and it’s waxy but still goes on okay and looks nice. It just brings into question not just the products we’ve received from this brand, but also the products Lust Have It are sourcing. I love Lust Have It – their bags are always fun to open, and I’ve found some genuinely cool things in them – but it’s not a good look to have stuff like this in that can’t be sourced. I’m sure there’s a pretty obvious explanation (a la these were repackaged into Gosh lipliners recently and the formula is the same, so these are perfectly recent productions), but it’s something I feel the need to flag as a part of full transparency and a refusal to always talk only about good things. My best estimate is that either a brand sent these because they had loads lying around, because they’ve changed formulas, or Lust Have It have had them sitting around for a while. Either way, not my thing. Still, a really pretty colour if you don’t mind any of that stuff. It’s sealed, at the very least.

Sasy N Savy Pure Creme Rose Geranium Cleanser (2 other sample options; 20mL sample size; seems to be roughly $8 in value since the 100mL size is $42 on the card although is listed as $40 on the website; the brand name is spelled “sassy” on the card but I remember being annoyed at the weird spelling) – Thanks to the normal name of this product, I don’t have to get annoyed at the hundreds of Ns in the name like last time (just say “and”, it’s okay). I really like cream cleansers that don’t strip the skin, so I’m keen to use this as my travel/hospital cleanser. Hopefully the claims of firming don’t mean that it leaves me feeling tight. On dry sniff, the rose doesn’t seem too overpowering, so I’ll remain hopeful.

Medusa’s Makeup Lip Gloss (I got Lover Boy, apparently, and it’s full size; RRP is listed as $12 which makes sense with the exchange rate – it’s $9USD) – I’ve always been confused by Medusa’s Makeup as a brand, because I can’t get a feel for it. I also don’t wear lip gloss. Fuck lip gloss. I appreciate a full size of an American brand, and I would have loved for it to have been a lipstick, but I understand that not everyone digs lipstick like I do. The pink is also like…super pink. I’m not a fan of pink. But still – nice in theory.

So – mixed feelings. I love the eyeshadow, and I really appreciate the inclusion of the brush. Weirdly, I’m enjoying the type of cleanser that’s in there. I like the lip liner as a product, but the actual accessibility of it and the trail it lead me on wasn’t great. The foundation sample is useless and won’t be my colour and I will not even bother with the lipgloss.

I don’t know. I’m a little put off with that whole lip liner thing. It’s such a silly thing to get put off by, but it’s more what’s implied. I’m possibly just in a bit of a bad place and being too negative anyway. That said, most of the contents: not bad.

Bite-Sized Five: Products I’ve Been Thinking About in October

October has been a truly brutal month. I’m only writing right now because honestly, I need a bit of a distraction, and grief is blocking almost all of the inspiration I need to get any of my work done for university. This post might be impersonal, and it might really exceed in the bite-sized stakes, but it’s something.

It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream in Light – This is the baby size, and I caved to rave reviews in my quest to find something nice for everyday when I go to Hawaii and for during the awful Australian summer. While I really enjoy the light feeling melding with decent coverage – this isn’t a foundation, but it definitely does a more effective job at covering blemishes than the majority of BB or CC or XX whatever creams – but it is definitely thicker feeling than other lightweight bases I have used, and I do feel like a primer is necessary with this one. When I have used it sans primer, I’ve found it tends to get a little clingy onto dry patches. The colour range is not spectacular and it has quite a strong smell, and I’ve heard a lot of reports of it being not so great in terms of triggering breakouts (I personally can’t comment on this either way). The wear time is alright, and I probably will reach for it more come summer, but I do wish it were a little more fuss-free. I guess that’s the trade-off that comes with wanting some coverage when you’ve got spots and scars and the like.

Physician’s Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum in Ultra Black – My local Priceline didn’t have a Physician’s Formula stand and I’ve also only really heard good things about like two of their products, so I never really paid much attention to the brand. When a new Priceline opened up with a stand, I thought I’d finally give a go to the one product I hear raved about consistently from the brand, especially compared to one of my absolute favourite products – the Kat Von D tattoo liner. It does have a brush tip, which I like on the KVD for the precision it provides, and it is definitely very black. That said, I find it much thicker and harder to control, and I can’t get precision at all. I like using it to get the actual line along my eye, nice and opaque and intense, but if I’m doing a wing, nope. A lot of people call these dupes, and while this will get used, I would definitely not consider them equal.

Teeez Dessert Metals Mascara in Tigers Eye – I got this in my July Lust Have It bag,  and in the off chance that you come across it, my verdict is that it’s fine. Brown mascara doesn’t really suit me, despite the gorgeous packaging. The biggest claim of this mascara is that it is longwear but easy to wash off, which is a claim I’d have to dispute – I find this to be a bit of a pain in the ass to remove, if I’m honest. The wear is decent, but not spectacular. It’s fine.

The Body Shop Down to Earth Eye Palette Smoky Gold Quad – The first of two palettes I wanted to talk about quickly, and my requisite single body shop product per bite-sized five. These new eye palettes launched, and I really do have to commend The Body Shop for upping their game on the eyeshadow front. Each palette – I’ve played with them all – differs in quality, but they are a huge step up from the previous Body Shop palettes in terms of blendability and ease of use. I appreciate the focus on ease of use and simplicity rather than pigmentation, because it’s very in-line with the demographic (not me). I do really love this one. It’s so smooth, and the pigmentation is great in each shade. The individual shades pop out, but aren’t available separately yet. There’s a nice highlight shade (or base, on my skintone), a good deep matte brown, a beautiful satin shimmer gold and a pretty shimmery taupe. I also have the Smoky Brown palette, which has two peach shades, and I can say that the glitter shades are definitely the weakest ones. I’m not so much of a fan of the pigmentation on the plum quad, which also doesn’t go on very plum and has a boatload of fallout, and the black quad isn’t my thing. The palette of eight is a nice mix of the golds and the plums, but I stayed away because I wouldn’t use the black or the plums. I love the nice big mirror and the new packaging and basically holy shit, these are so much better than the shimmer cubes. They aren’t cheap, especially for four shadows – when you compare it to the Zoeva palette, it’s excessive – but you do get deep pans and they are, when you pick the right palette, good quality. I’d say tread carefully, choose wisely (strong recommendations for this one and the brown one, and the grey one is nice on fair skin), but a step in the right direction.

Zoeva Naturally Yours Palette – I recently sold my Rodeo Belle palette, which was full of colours that didn’t inspire me, and was thinking about replacing it with another one because the Zoeva palettes are lovely quality, affordable, and good for playing around with. I went with the full intention of getting a more well known option, like the Rose Gold or the En Taupe or something, but for some reason the Naturally Yours palette was just the one that was calling to me. I know who I am. I know I like bold lips and bland eyes with the occasional pop. Zoeva shadows blend beautifully and their palettes work cohesively and this is just a really easy palette to create the basis for anything. It’s got your creams and your browns of different hues and some great easy shimmers. It’s not a good base-for-any-eye kit in the same way that the Kat Von D Shade and Light eye palette is, but it’s great if you know you want neutral but aren’t feeling inspired. So basically, it’s great for me.

I haven’t got a lot else in me, right now. I’m consumed by a lot of weird emotions and everything feels heavy and slow.

Bite Sized Five – September (new and new-to-me product reviews)

Other than lipsticks, I haven’t been trying out a whole lot of new things recently. I’ve been (drum roll) pretty sick, blah blah family problems, blah blah studying and working, and also just really trying to make the most out of what I already have rather than buying more stuff. Again, that’s with the exception of lipsticks. I’ve got a few things to talk about lipstick wise (Urban Decay Vice lipsticks! New Pretty Zombie Cosmetics Liquid lipsticks that I bought when I was heavily out of it on painkillers in hospital!).

I also could very easily have done a monthly round up of Body Shop products. As I’ve stated numerous times, I’m in retail, I work there, and it’s nice working somewhere that you actually like and use the products of. I tend to only talk about things if they’re huge hits or ridiculous fails (which does happen), and I tend to sample almost everything so my monthly empties tend to sum up most of the latest launches, but while I try not to overload these posts with that shit, there are actually two things I’m currently genuinely excited about. Like, would have bought full price as a normal customer excited. Like, one of them I bought three backups of excited. There are also some other things here that I’ve recently acquired, whether by purchasing them or by them just somehow ending up in my lap, but they felt worthy of discussion. Let’s dive in.

The Body Shop Piñita Colada Shower Gel – I put the shower gel here because I am a noted shower gel enthusiast and also because, as I mentioned, I bought three of these bad boys and I’m still not sure I have enough (three mojito shower gels didn’t feel like enough). Really, though, this is here for the scent. I also picked up the body butter, and I had zero intention of doing that. None. Do you know how many body butters you acquire when you work at The Body Shop? It’s a genuine epidemic. I had every plan on resisting this one in spite of the smell, but when I felt the texture – lightweight and springy, almost velvety, a la the Japanese Camellia Cream, I was sold. The shower gels were a no brainer. My mother loves coconut and I love pineapple, and we’re both thrilled that it’s not too heavy on the coconut so as to be cloying. Plus I’ve never had issues with TBS shower gels drying out my skin, and I’m not just saying that – Lush shower creams are my worst enemy, for example. Just check out the smell. Pop into a store and slather some on while it’s here. Grab a sample. It really is the perfect summery smell, not too heavy, not too sweet. I almost prefer it to Virgin Mojito. Almost.

The Body Shop Chinese Ginseng and Rice Clarifying Polishing Face Mask – I reviewed most of the new mask range back in my July empties, and I honestly wasn’t a huge fan of any of them. There was a lot of like-but-not-love going on (and in the case of the Himalayan Charcoal, which is coincidentally the most popular mask of the range in the Australian market, downright NOPE for me). I warmed up to the Acai berry one and I thought I might start to convince myself to gain enthusiasm for it, and then I finally tried the Ginseng and Rice mask. The next day, no kidding, my skin looked so damn good. I thought it might be a fluke, tried it again, and it turns out this mask is just the perfect match for my skin. It’s a clay mask, so it’s good for my blemishes, but it’s not a harsh stripping clay like the Himalayan Charcoal – it’s got rosehip oil and it dries almost soft, so you get the deep cleanse feeling but not to the same extent. It’s quite intense in its exfoliation, but with gentle little granules, and that’s lovely to someone like me who can’t handle our most popular exfoliation products and found two of the other masks to border on too exfoliating (acai and charcoal). I’m delicate. It’s also got a nice low but present level of salicylic acid and is overall just damn nice. It is permanent, so even though it’s sold out almost everywhere, it will be back eventually.

Paula’s Choice Resist Daily Smoothing Treatment with 5% AHA – And over to something I have slightly less glowing thoughts about, sadly.   I have had great success with and really do enjoy the 2% BHA liquid, and a lot of people spoke about alternating their AHA and BHAs, so on a whim I thought I’d plunge in to the full size and try this out. Maybe I just tried this at the wrong time for my skin, but the three week period I was using this  with no other new additions was some of the downright worst my skin has been in a long time, just really broken out which is not usually how it goes in winter weather. I might give this a go at a later stage but I’m super wary of it.

em. Cosmetics The Great Cover Up Concealer in Light Neutral/Cool – I got this in my last Bellabox, but I thought I’d throw it in here to update you on how it actually works and my thoughts on it as a concealer. I’m notoriously quite fussy with concealers, and incredibly nonplussed by most of the major players (Mac Prolongwear? Eh. Estee Lauder Doublewear? Eh. Maybelline FitMe? Eh. Nars RCC? EH. The list is lengthy). I am surprised by how much I am enjoying this, especially given my hesitance towards em. Cosmetics as a brand. It’s definitely a creamier consistency, and reminds me of a higher coverage version of something like the Maybelline Superstay Better Skin, or perhaps an easier to blend version of the It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye. It isn’t quite up to the job with severe raised blemishes which require a more tacky, solid concealer a la Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage or NYX’s Full Coverage Concealer in the little pot, but other than that it works well on blemishes, spot concealing, redness and under the eyes if you aren’t going for the instagram concealer highlight. The shade is nearly ideal for me, and will be perfect in summer – right now it’s a tiny smidgen too dark – and I appreciate the inclusion of undertones. I’ll definitely continue to use this, and it’s a product I would consider keeping in my regular rotation were it not so difficult to track down (perhaps I could cash in some of my hundreds of bellabox points).

Tarte Tarteist Lip Crayon in Latergram (deluxe sample) – I feel like every review of this range of liquid lipsticks and matching liners briefly mentions that they’re setting aside the cringe inducing names and you know what, let’s actually all take a few moments to fully embrace the cringe. Imagine, if you will, a slideshow with the names appearing on screen. Yaassss. Manbun. Bae. Twerk. On Fleek. I’m standing next to the screen. I’m staring at you, shaking my head. A single tear rolls down my cheek. We’re in this together. Right, so Latergram is a pretty classic mauve with some dusty, brick type tones to it. It’s pretty basic and I would swatch it but my lips are covered in Pretty Zombie Cosmetics Transylvania and that shit is not going anywhere – and this is not a swatch post. I thought “hey, what could go wrong? It’s a lip liner in a pretty colour!” Yikes. These lip crayons, while being self sharpening – nice – are so damn dry and draggy on the lips. Even my traditional shove-it-in-the-bra-for-five-minutes doesn’t resolve the dragging problem, and believe me, my lips are in impeccable shape. I thought my NYX retractable liners took a bit of work, but this is next level. Put simply, these are not worth it. The matte lip paints themselves are tolerable if you’re a fan of mousse formulas, but unless they reformulate these liners, there are so much better options available at so much cheaper prices (my favourites are NYX for colour range, Essence for price, The Body Shop for comfort/creaminess, Urban Decay for something that feels fancier).

Five things! Hope those were worthwhile thoughts. Share yours! Tell me about other things! I’ll be commencing work on one of those lipstick posts, but which? Who knows. I’m also going to America just before Christmas, land of reasonably priced makeup and wonderful holiday releases, so I need to start making a list and checking it several times. Variety is the spice of life.

Did I accidentally delete a bunch of the photos of products/swatches on this website, which I am unable to retrieve from the black hole of the internet? Yes. Oops.