ALLURE BEAUTY BOX 🌞 AUGUST 2017 🌞

AUGUST 2017

ALLURE BEAUTY BOX

August beauty box consists mostly of skincare products with only one makeup product included. There is also a haircare product. I usually like a balance of skin and makeup mainly because skincare products take time to show results and if there's too much it takes a longer time to trial. As for haircare, they're not of much use to my dreads hence would've wished i didn't receive any.

1. Skinfix Face cleansing cloth. 3pcs individual packets.

I really like this handy wipes for days where i come back home late from work and am too tired to wash all the makeup off. I wouldn't use this to remove all out heavy make up tho as i would still need a good foaming cleanse afterwards. But for the lazy party girls out there, this might be your skin saviour. Compact and easy to use for travelling too as it saves space the more you use. 

2. Vichy mineral 89 skin fortifying daily booster. Deluxe size 5ml.

This transparent gel is supposedly unique due to the minimal clean ingredients list. Its in a gel form, but once applied to the face it instantly absorbs to the skin without feeling sticky (2 pumps is enough for the face). It also disperses a nice amount hence not overflowing with product. It is a daily booster that helps hydrate and give you the moisture your skin needs daily. There is no scent to it either so the clean ingredient list plus scentless would work quite well for sensitive skin. 

3. Caudalie instant detox mask. Deluxe size. 

I love this type of wet to dry products! It reminds me of neutrogena charcoal mask where it applies wet and then it soaks up the oil in your face and turns chalky dry. These are recommended to be on the face for only 5-10minutes until you see the colour change to a lighter chalkier shade as if left too long it will dry out the skin. Once dried, the interesting thing is that you can see the pores will be darker dots where the oil is absorbed by the clay. Fascinating. You do need to wash this off tho. 

4. Rodial black smokey eye pen. Full size.

Yet another eyeliner pencil received. This will make it into my giving away box because i do not like pencil eyeliners. They smudge no matter what brand and they aren't as sharp as liquid liners to get a proper clean cat eye, they make a mess to be sharpened etc.

5. Ouia haircare finishing cream.

Unfortunately this is never gonna be used as i have dreadlocks instead of normal flowy hair. Full stop.

6. Hey honey I peel good! Biomimetic Honey Peel Cream.

(Biomimetic = is the imitation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems.)

This product claims to deep-cleanse, purify and resurfaces your skin to reveal a smooth, radiant texture. Also helps in retaining skin elasticity. 

On first squeeze, you can smell a nice subtle honey scent. At first, it has a gel like texture and looks like a gel, upon massaging and smoothing it out, it melts and turns into an oil form, at this point you have to massage in circles continuously for about 2-3minutes to remove the impurities and to get the best impact on your skin. After washing, it leaves a really smooth finish to your skin and none of the tight and dry feeling after exfoliating. This is a nice peel to substitute your regular exfoliator for when you dont need the abrasive beads/scrub against your irritated face. I could see myself using this again 2-3 times a week.

Finally this is the end of the review for August's Allure beauty box. Although this is a skincare heavy box, i do like the Caudelie mask, the Hey honey peel, Vichy mineral 89 & also the skinfix wipes. So 4 out of 6 is not bad. Its unfortunate the hair product is unusable, would be better if it was a makeup product that i could use (other than the pencil liner). 

Sephora Play Box 🍑 MAY 2017 🍑

SEPHORA PLAY BOX

MAY 2017

"Beauty on the rise"

Sephora play box costs $10usd per month, curated from all things new and popular from Sephora itself. 

May's bag came a little bit different than the usual sephora play drawstring canvas bags. This month the items came in the box as usual, but in a plastic square envelope thats waterproof and perfect for bringing to the beach. There are 6 products this month. Here is the info sheet:

1. Rahua omega 9 hair mask:

I have recently cut all my hair off and am seen sporting a really short undercut pixie now. Hence ive not yet tried the hair mask yet. It does however have a seal so i might be swapping this or giving it away.

2. Tatcha pure one step cleansing oil:

This cleansing oil promises to wipe away makeup and any leftover residues in one step. I tried them dry as per instructions and it did start to lather up after a while but it was tugging at my face cause there wasnt any water involved, when i do try to wash my face first and use the product the oil wont interact with the wet surface at all. So i have mixed feelings about this cleansing oil. I find that it works best for removing the heavily made up part of your face. For instance, like eyeshadow, eyeliner & mascara, and rubbing off slowly with cotton pads.

3. Nudestix magnetic lip crayon in Greystone:

This shade is a bit too dark for me, i dont really fancy the whole brown lips thing. But i think if the colour wasnt that dark i would love to wear them on all day. I swatched this on the lips and i find that the texture is smooth and highly pigmented. They also did not budge at all even after wiping, hence the'magnetic' reference. 

4. Trestique highlighter stick:

I love the colour of the highlighter, its a champagne with pink undertones. I usually prefer pinks to golds. Hence this colour suits me. However infond that kost creamy product i put on top of my foundation and powder tends to move the bottom layer abit. So i like powder versions of highlighters more compared to cream sticks. This glides on smoothly tho. No tugging.

5. Stella by Tocca perfume:

This has top notes of bitter orange and bloody orange, middle notes of wild diamond orchid, spicy lily. And bottom notes of sheer musk and sandalwood. The smell ismt too overpowering but it leaves a nice refreshing scent throughout the day. Staying power is good too, i really love the perfume sample as i went through the sample bottle within few weeks! 

6. Hungarian water essence by Belif:

Korean skincare is one of the trending things in the beauty world right now. This product claims to recharge your skin with deep, lasting hydration. To be used after cleansing and toning as an extra hydration step. The pumper dispenses a clear white liquid (resembling water) when spread out on the skin it is not sticky and is easily absorbed into the skin, then it dries completely. This is good to use on days that are quite dry.  

Out of the 6 products received, i actually only loved the tocca perfume sample as thats the one ive used up the most of. Next item that would get good use is the highlighter. I love the brand nudestix and their quality is amazing, im just not a fan of the brown shade given. I believe ill be using the belif once in a while to prep for before i slather makeup on. Next the cleanser, i tried to make it work a few times but im not a fan of the oil. And lastly the hair mask, i hate hair products that needs to be used in the shower. Im okay with leave in conditioners etc. 

Conclusion: May's bag 🌟🌟🌟/5

IPSY GLAM BAG 🍉 MARCH 🍉

IPSY

MARCH 2017

TRES JOLIE

 

March's Ipsy glam bag may be the prettiest bag so far, pink blush is on trend at the moment and looks really chic asf, am curently using them as a makeup bag for work. Not to mention the inspiring pass it on card with a beautiful message as well. With that said, March bag comes with 5 items as pretty as the bag itself.

 

1. Chella highlighter pencil in 'Ivory'.

This is a creamy pencil highlighter that doubles as a concealer too if you're pale enough. I use this as a eyebrow highlighter to clean the edges of the brow and prep the arch for my eyeshadows. Creamy texture blends well hence there is no weird lines. Colour suits well as a highlighter too for a fair-medium asian skintone as its not too white.

2. INT cosmetics eyeshadow in shade 'Goddess Gold'.

A reaaaaaly pretty rose gold shade that suits the theme of the bag well. Swatches smoothly without tugging and one swipe is quite pigmented too. Ive never heard of INT cosmetics but it reminds me alot of Nyx. A good item introduction tho.

3. Tarteist lip paint in the shade 'Rosé'.

This is definitely something familiar and knowing that (its not cheap) it adds more value to the bag. From my experience with Tarte lip paints, the dark shades don't work well for me as they emphasize on every fine line. But the lighter shades on the other hand are such a blessing for when you want a natural look, shades like this and Tbt 👌🏾🔥

 

4. Dr Brandt microdermabrasion exfoliator.

I use this after removing all my makeup off with an oil base remover, once a week. The texture is gritty but the particles are not big and rough at all, they are actually pretty smooth and calming to scrub and exfoliate with. Altho the particles are small but it is enough to remove dead skin around the nose area which is the problem area for me. It looks and feels alot like icing and i like that its not an aggressive product.

 

5. Skone blending brush.

The name reminds me of scones. Black handle and rose gold ferrule fitting nicely into the bag theme again. The #skoneGirl promises to never ever test products on animals so this is made of nylon bristles with a fluffy rounded head. The shape is just nice to blend the crease on the lid, altho for my eye shape i always have to go for a smaller brush size because my lids are not that wide and spacey to begin with. But i secretly use this as a cheekbone highlighting brush 🌝

Aaaaaand thats it for March's Ipsy glam bag, i really love this month as everything fits really well together and the colour theme is just so cute too. April has lots to do to top this month. 🌟

LIP MONTHLY 🍪 APRIL 2017 🍪

APRIL 2017

LIP MONTHLY BAG

 

April's bag comes with 4 lip products and they are all full sized packagings. Im glad that this month the brands i received are new and not repeats of what i got previously. I realize that i did not receive an info card this month. Here's a close up of the lippies received:

 

 

1. Estate pout stick in the shade 'Damn'.

On the stick the shade is a dark burgundy red, when swatched it turned out to look red-brown. The finish is somewhat not so creamy yet its not matte. So this is definitely something that im okay with wearing out. 

2. So susan liquid matte lipstick in the shade 'Pumpkin'.

Ive heard good things about this brand so its about time i give it a try, and lucky me this came in a very wearable shade that suits my skintone(asian) quite well as a mlbb shade.

 

3. Be a bombshell lipgloss in the shade 'poker face'.

This is a bright red in the tube, turns out slightly sheer when swatched but can be layered. I like that its red so that i can experiment for work when im in the store the whole day cause im not that comfortable in gloss. Its slightly sticky when swatched tho. 

 

4. Chapstick day & night. 

I saw that some people got a different variation of the bag and they got the highlighter concealer instead. But im glad that i received this as my air conditioned working environment plus lipstick on the whole day tends to make my lips dry. Plus this has got both day and night which im excited to see whats the difference between both of them, also i keep losing my lipbalms so its handy to have more. 

Overall April's bag was definitely worth the $12.95, as the value was way more and i love all the 4 items this time round. Hopefully May bag will be as good if not better!