February 2015 Favorites

February 2015 Favorites 
February 2015 Favorites
1. Sephora Teint Infusion Foundation, $24 / 2. Conair 1875 Watt Tourmaline Ceramic Dryer, $30 /
3. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked, $22 / 4. NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Pigments, $3

It’s already time for my February 2015 Favorites – and here I was last month mentioning January being cold. That was cute and misguided of me.

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Noteworthy and New at Sephora

I was browsing, as I often do, and came across some noteworthy and new items on Sephora.com. I haven’t tried any of these products, but they’re interesting enough to talk about.

New at Sephora - Kat von D Shade + Light Contour Palette

Kat von D Shade + Light Contour Palette, $46

The KvD-branded makeup line has released a contour palette new at Sephora ostensibly as an Anastasia contender. It only comes in one set of shades (more similar to Anastasia’s lighter palette) and has spectacular reviews so far. Curiously, the darker pans (for carving out cheekbones and whatnot) contain more product than the highlighting/setting pans. KvD/Sephora also released this dual-ended HaC (that’s Highlight and Contour) brush to go with, priced at $36, though any you prefer, of course, will do.

New at Sephora - Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palette

Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palettes, $58

It is no secret that Hourglass repeatedly produces things of beauty. And I don’t mean beauty products; the products and packaging are beautiful, elegant, amazing. Their new eyeshadow palettes are features housing similar to their highlighter and blush trios, and the panless presentation of shades is a sight to behold. The collection, which is currently only available to VIB Rouge members, includes seven palettes with five shades each. I don’t think I could justify this purchase for myself, but they’re really fantastic to stare at.

New at Sephora - Benefit Puff Off!

Benefit Puff Off!, $29

I can’t shake the, “Oh look, another gimmicky item from Benefit!” feeling I get when I look at this. This eye gel has a cutesy clothes-iron-shaped applicator for, “ironing out,” any fine lines or puffiness. Personally, I’ll leave my skincare to the skincare companies, but this will be at home in the collections of Benefit fans. This isn’t only new at Sephora; Ulta has this, too.

New at Sephora - The Stunningly Ridiculous and Actually Kind of Offensive $675 of Christian Louboutin Nail Polish

Christian Louboutin Starlight (via the Wayback Machine), $675

OH LOOK, more nonsense from the shoe brand. How lucky that they have a few shoe models in such a low, low price-point! Aside from its mere (annoying) existence, this item’s ridiculosity (yes) is compounded by the fact that the polish is the very same that I wrote about a couple months ago…its just that the bottle is adorned in Strass crystals. Not diamonds or anything, just…swarovski. So not just nail polish, but tacky nail polish in a gift box. Yay! Seriously, seeing this stuff on sale at Sephora makes me roll my eyes. How many of these are they actually selling? It has to be the single most expensive item they carry (not talking about sets or kits).

New at Sephora - YSL Volupté Tint-In-Oil

YSL Volupté Tint-In-Oil, $32

A new twist on lipcolor, Yves Saint Laurent delivers color suspended in oil as an alternative to a more-traditional gloss. Surprisingly, a lot of the reviews report that it is actually drying. Not sure what to make of that – I’d certainly have expected it to be hydrating. I wonder if other brands will enter the fray?

New at Sephora - BITE Smashed Agave Lip Mask

BITE beauty Smashed Agave Lip Mask, $26

Bite’s highly-touted lip treatment now in a rosy-red hue. I’d probably go for the original because I’d wear it to bed (don’t want pinkish red on my pillowcases, after all) but it is really nice to see brands responding to what consumers have been asking for.
New at Sephora - Dior Cheek & Lip Glow

Dior Cheek & Lip Glow, $37

Look! Dior’s making Benetint! Just kidding. I’ve never tried Benetint, but I know if this product preforms as well as the Dior Addict Lip Glow appears to (at least according to sales), it’ll have a cult following in no time.

And, let’s end on a positive note, because that’s a nice thing to do…

New at Sephora - Sephora Teint Infusion Ethereal Natural Finish Foundation

Sephora Teint Infusion Ethereal Natural Finish Foundation, $24

That’s a mouthful, but this is Sephora’s foray into the serum-foundation game (like bareMinerals bareSkin, Perricone No Foundation Foundation Serum, YSL Fusion Ink, etc). Sephora foundations, at least since I’ve been paying attention to prestige-level makeup, have gotten pretty good reviews and at only $24 the price is pretty damn nice (especially considering that some drugstore foundations are as high as $15 now). My main complaint is that currently this is online only – makes getting a color match pretty difficult. I’m not sure if this serum foundation’s shades are configured for ColorIQ matches, but I intend to find out because I really, really want to try it. It’s honestly my favorite (taking into account I haven’t tried any of this) of what I’ve found new at Sephora.

Have you seen anything new at Sephora – or anywhere else! Anything beauty-related – that was noteworthy?

December 2014 Favorites

December 2014 FavoritesDecember 2014 Favorites
1. Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil, $16 / 2. Kat von D Foiled Love Lipstick in Adora, discontinued /
3. OPI Gelcolor in I’m Not Really a Waitress, $15 (varies) / 4. Red Carpet Manicure Glitz and Glamorous, $10 /
5. L’Oreal Infalliable Eyeshadow in Bronzed Taupe, $7

Rather than waiting a week to get these out, I decided to publish my December 2014 Favorites today. I feel like I should have more on my list, but they kind of overlap with last month…and I imagine next month’s will overlap with this month, too. :P I hope 2014 has been awesome to you, and that 2015 is even more fulfilling.

Before moving on to my favorites, today is the final day for my Urban Decay Naked2 Basics giveaway – it ends at 11:59PM EST, go check it out!

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November 2014 Favorites

November 2014 FavoritesNovember 2014 Favorites
1. Innisfree Hand Cream, $? / 2. bareMinerals Concealer Brush, $20* /
3. Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter, $5 / 4. Alpha Hydrox 10% AHA Moisturizing Lotion, $10 /
5. Too Faced Everything Nice Palette, $56

Blah blah, November went sooooo fast, etc. You know the drill. November 2014 Favorites!

But before the jump, have you entered the EcoTools Eye Enhancing Duo Brush Giveaway? Open until December 16!

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Glambot Procedure Inquiry

Glambot Procedure Inquiry

In June, I published a three part series on my experience with used cosmetic retailer, Glambot.

Overall, I was satisfied with the items I received. They are genuine, undamaged, and accurately depicted for the most part (and always accurately described). I was impressed by the level of care taken to package the items.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

I hop on every now and then mostly to see if I can snag a good deal on a tub of MAC pigment (Rushmetal has me hooked), but have not made any additional purchases – either they haven’t listed one I’m interested in, or they had a listing but it was sold out, or the timing just wasn’t right for me.

In Monday’s makeup destashing post, I mentioned I was destashing a MAC lipstick (to Back2MAC) that I had purchased from them as a part of that haul — Cosmo, to be specific. Since I last used it, it has gone from MAC’s signature pleasant vaguely-vanilla scent to smelling like old, cheap crayons. It bums me out because I really dig the color (don’t let my infrequent use fool you – I don’t wear lipcolor daily). I didn’t think much of it – after all, Glambot procedures surely will not include carbon-dating a lipstick, and most packaging doesn’t have a date-stamp (though that would be really helpful, manufacturers!).

A reader pointed out that batch numbers of products certainly could (and perhaps should) be cross-referenced as part of Glambot procedures to ensure that a seemingly-good product wouldn’t be on the brink of expiration. I have reached out to Glambot to confirm their procedure for certifying such products before accepting/reselling them.

Once I hear back and have a solid answer regarding my Glambot procedure inquiry, I will be sure to post an update so you can have a better idea of the length to which Glambot goes to verify product age before resale. All of my other products from my Glambot haul are fine (including the other lipstick, which still smells of vanilla and happiness).


 

EDIT: I have gotten a response. Check this post for details.

Drugstore Products I’ve Changed My Mind On

You get something new, and it doesn’t live up to whatever expectations you have. Or maybe it is a really great product. Even if you like it, sometimes you’ll set it aside and find yourself revisiting it some time later, only to form a completely different opinion.

Here’s a list of products I’ve changed my mind on:

Changed My Mind - L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga MascaraProduct I’ve Changed My Mind on
No. 1 L’Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara

At first, I was happy with this product; in fact, I posted my positive review just over a month ago. In just a month, the consistency has changed enough that the product causes my lashes to clump (even though it is not particularly dry). I can only separate them by going through them with a lash comb afterwards and I don’t have time for that. That isn’t to say the product is bad – I know some prefer that look, but I prefer definition and length to volume…so I’ve changed my mind on this mascara and will not repurchase.

Changed My Mind - Maybelline Color Tattoos

Product I’ve Changed My Mind on
No. 2 Maybelline Color Tattoos

This is something else I’ve shared recently. I tried the products but ultimately felt they didn’t live up to the hype so into the back of the drawer they went. I recently re-discovered them and found that they’re great when used with a specific Real Techniques brush. So glad I gave them a second chance.

Changed My Mind - Milani Eye Tech Extreme Liquid Liner

Product I’ve Changed My Mind on
No. 3 Milani Eye Tech Extreme Liquid Line

This felt-tip liquid liner’s formula is a great inexpensive dupe for Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner. I used to really like it (especially at its price point), but the product itself didn’t properly flow all the way to the very fine tip of the felt pen which made it harder for me to achieve a fine line when I wanted (aka most of the time)…and so I changed my mind about it. If you want a suuuper-fine line, this isn’t the one for you. If you don’t mind your lines being a little thicker or having to go back and clean it up, this is still a good product. The formula is quality – it lasts, doesn’t smear, and is surprisingly gentle to the eye (in case your hand jerks during application and you draw on your eye – not that I know anything about that).

Changed My Mind - Maybelline Baby Lips

Product I’ve Changed My Mind on
No. 4 Maybelline Baby Lips

The Baby Lips line has had several iterations by now. I tried the first and then one or two here and there since, and the result has been the same. They were decent enough at first, but by the time I got midway through the tube I just wasn’t impressed because they feel like any other cheap balm (I actually prefer classic Chap-Stick [Cherry] to this). As a basic balm goes, there are better ones out there in terms of moisturization. As a tinted balm goes, there are ones that are better in terms of pigmentation and moisture. It just isn’t a formula that does much for me, and I will not repurchase it unless they come out with a new formula.

Originally, this was intended to be an overall things I’ve changed my mind on – but I have come to realize that I haven’t (yet) changed my mind on any of my prestige beauty products. I’ve tried things that disappointed, sure – but I haven’t yet changed my mind on one.

What about you? Have you had any products unexpectedly fall into or out of favor after your initial assessment?