Makeup post
My Birchbox subscription continues to be awesome. In this month's box I got The Balm's Stainiac, a rosy pink lip stain with a glossy finish, as well as a FULL SIZED Stila One Step Bronze. I tend to not use bronzers, what with being a pale girl with a tendency towards red hair. Usually, bronzers just make me look like my face is dirty. But aha! I blend this with my foundation (which is more like a tinted moisturizer this time of year), and it both adds a very subtle warmth to my face AND deepens the color so I don't have to buy a darker foundation for summer. I'm pretty pleased with it.
I am continuing to love cream blushes. I've never really liked powdery stuff on my face, and I can blend creams in a matter of seconds. MAC just put out an entire line of Casual Color cream blushes, but I'm waffling on it because let's face it, MAC's quality has gone down the tubes in the last few years. I don't have a ton of disposable income to spend on makeup (which is why I love Birchbox so much-- $10/month and I easily get three times that in product), so $23 on a product that fizzles isn't something I'm willing to do. Add to that, MAC is now selling in China, and China's animal testing policy is skeevy to say the least, so I've been kind of avoiding MAC, and will be switching to another eye primer as well, since Urban Decay just decided to venture into China. If/when China changes its policies, I might change my mind, but as it stands, there are plenty 100% cruelty-free brands for me to try where I can get comparable products and not worry about the skeeve factor.
My mom just gave me a Laura Geller cream blush that I've not yet tried-- it's a little more of a fall color, with a berry undertone. What I have been often wearing was another full size I got in my Birchbox, Revolution Organics' "beauty balm" cheek and lip color in SunKissed. It's sort of a golden coral with a bronze undertone. It blends nicely and is a great summery shade for warmer skin tones. My only issue with it is that it's kind of soft, so I have to be careful and not apply too much pressure when I'm putting it on or it'll get squishy. It's really nice on my lips, too, but doesn't last long at all.
The other thing I've been loving right now are the lip products Revlon's been putting out. Early spring, they put out Colorburst Lip Butters, and the beauty blogosphere went nuts over them. I bought three. They're cheap and amazing quality for the price. I got Peach Parfait (pinky peach with golden shimmer), Pink Truffle (nude pink), and Red Velvet (deep red). The color payoff is AMAZING, and they feel like lip balms when worn-- SUPER moisturizing, which is great because my lips tend to be dry unless I constantly apply balm. They aren't at all tacky like glosses. Overall, they're just fantastic products, and entirely worth looking into even if you consider yourself a minimal makeup, Chapstick type of gal.
Revlon's new launch for summer are their Just Bitten Kissable balm stain pencils, and I am loving the one I got of those as well. They sort of look like Clinique's Chubby Sticks or the Tarte Lipsurgence pencils, but they're half the cost. I actually got a Lipsurgence full size in my Birchbox two months ago, but it was entirely too cool toned for me, so I passed it on. As for Revlon, I got Honey, which, again is a pinky nude-- it goes on matte, but moisturizing. You don't really need a mirror to apply it, so it's great for touchups. And it does leave a flattering, subtle stain after the balm component has worn off. Great as a a standalone product or under lipstick or balm. I hope they completely replace Revlon's previous balm + stain product, which were TERRRRRRRIBLE and drying and patchy. I want to try to pick up Rendezvous (orangey coral) and Adore (brick red with gold shimmer) sometime soon.
Fall collections are just starting to be teased. I am particularly looking forward to the Bobbi Bown Desert Twilight Collection. The eye palette looks like a perfect Autumnal substitute for my Stila In The Light palette (as I am already hitting pan on my most-used shades), and I have always wanted to try her lip glosses. Evening Rose, Pink Sunset, and Twilight look right up my alley. I hope Christine of Temptalia will review them so we can get a better look.
One other beauty-related find I've been loving: Yes To Blueberries facial wipes. $8.99 for 30 at Walgreens. They smell like lemon + apple, they remove makeup, they clean the skin, AND they leave it very subtly moisturized. I am super impressed. I will be re-purchasing them (in part because J has been stealing some, too!).
What beauty products have you been testing?
I am continuing to love cream blushes. I've never really liked powdery stuff on my face, and I can blend creams in a matter of seconds. MAC just put out an entire line of Casual Color cream blushes, but I'm waffling on it because let's face it, MAC's quality has gone down the tubes in the last few years. I don't have a ton of disposable income to spend on makeup (which is why I love Birchbox so much-- $10/month and I easily get three times that in product), so $23 on a product that fizzles isn't something I'm willing to do. Add to that, MAC is now selling in China, and China's animal testing policy is skeevy to say the least, so I've been kind of avoiding MAC, and will be switching to another eye primer as well, since Urban Decay just decided to venture into China. If/when China changes its policies, I might change my mind, but as it stands, there are plenty 100% cruelty-free brands for me to try where I can get comparable products and not worry about the skeeve factor.
My mom just gave me a Laura Geller cream blush that I've not yet tried-- it's a little more of a fall color, with a berry undertone. What I have been often wearing was another full size I got in my Birchbox, Revolution Organics' "beauty balm" cheek and lip color in SunKissed. It's sort of a golden coral with a bronze undertone. It blends nicely and is a great summery shade for warmer skin tones. My only issue with it is that it's kind of soft, so I have to be careful and not apply too much pressure when I'm putting it on or it'll get squishy. It's really nice on my lips, too, but doesn't last long at all.
The other thing I've been loving right now are the lip products Revlon's been putting out. Early spring, they put out Colorburst Lip Butters, and the beauty blogosphere went nuts over them. I bought three. They're cheap and amazing quality for the price. I got Peach Parfait (pinky peach with golden shimmer), Pink Truffle (nude pink), and Red Velvet (deep red). The color payoff is AMAZING, and they feel like lip balms when worn-- SUPER moisturizing, which is great because my lips tend to be dry unless I constantly apply balm. They aren't at all tacky like glosses. Overall, they're just fantastic products, and entirely worth looking into even if you consider yourself a minimal makeup, Chapstick type of gal.
Revlon's new launch for summer are their Just Bitten Kissable balm stain pencils, and I am loving the one I got of those as well. They sort of look like Clinique's Chubby Sticks or the Tarte Lipsurgence pencils, but they're half the cost. I actually got a Lipsurgence full size in my Birchbox two months ago, but it was entirely too cool toned for me, so I passed it on. As for Revlon, I got Honey, which, again is a pinky nude-- it goes on matte, but moisturizing. You don't really need a mirror to apply it, so it's great for touchups. And it does leave a flattering, subtle stain after the balm component has worn off. Great as a a standalone product or under lipstick or balm. I hope they completely replace Revlon's previous balm + stain product, which were TERRRRRRRIBLE and drying and patchy. I want to try to pick up Rendezvous (orangey coral) and Adore (brick red with gold shimmer) sometime soon.
Fall collections are just starting to be teased. I am particularly looking forward to the Bobbi Bown Desert Twilight Collection. The eye palette looks like a perfect Autumnal substitute for my Stila In The Light palette (as I am already hitting pan on my most-used shades), and I have always wanted to try her lip glosses. Evening Rose, Pink Sunset, and Twilight look right up my alley. I hope Christine of Temptalia will review them so we can get a better look.
One other beauty-related find I've been loving: Yes To Blueberries facial wipes. $8.99 for 30 at Walgreens. They smell like lemon + apple, they remove makeup, they clean the skin, AND they leave it very subtly moisturized. I am super impressed. I will be re-purchasing them (in part because J has been stealing some, too!).
What beauty products have you been testing?