Loose Powder

I’m a sucker for cute packaging, so when I spotted the bunny ears and smiley faces of the Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar, I just couldn’t resist. Since the Tony Moly brand is from South Korea, you have to look for websites that sell Korean cosmetics. I ended up buying mine from eBay, mainly because the price was more reasonable (re: affordable). As a note: counterfeit cosmetics do exist, particularly those that are highly popular and sought after. I did my due diligence to scope out the seller–established sales, customer reviews, total number and variety of items on the shop, etc.–before purchase.

My eBay purchase included the two Bunny Gloss Bars (number 03 Juicy Apple and 09 Neon Red), along with some other things that I hope to review at a later time. I got the goods delivered promptly (a little over a week) and everything was packaged very tidy in a small box. The individual gloss bar measures 4.5 in / 11.43 cm, which fits into the palm of my hand easily and the bunny ears gives my thumbs a gripping point when carrying. Both gloss bars had a label affixed on it that had a bunch of tiny Korean text which I could only make out the bar code and 03 or 09 numbers. I’ve read that Korean cosmetics have manufacture dates on the product, but I found imprinted on the bottom of the tube “EJN 20150912” followed by Korean text. I’m guessing that’s the use by date?

When uncapped, I noticed the scent of the gloss bar. I didn’t so much smell the 03 Juicy Apple, but for some reason 09 Neon Red had that sweet cherry-strawberry flavor reminiscent of children’s lip balms or cough medicine. The actual gloss bar is a creamy column that extends to about one inch via twisting the bottom tube, which I suppose is an average amount of gloss when compared to other lip products. I had some difficulty getting the 09 Neon Red bar to retract and ended up having to use my finger to gently press it back inside the plastic tube.

As far as the color: it’s actually rather sheer; you have to add a couple of layers before the color becomes really noticeable. The samples I swatched on my arm had a good 4-5 applications for the color to appear. And when I look at the 2 colors side by side, they do look rather similar, though this could be due to the lighting as I took the pictures rather quickly in the car during my lunch break. I found the actual application on my lips a bit on the greasy side for the 09 Neon Red. The texture is buttery soft and applies smoothly, but I didn’t find it to be moisturizing or very long lasting.

Overall, the Petite Bunny Gloss Bar is a combination between gloss (goes on in a shimmery-sheer fashion, but not exactly moist), and colored lip balm (bar that applies smooth and gives a touch of color). The product lists for $8.00-15.00 depending on which website you visit, but I paid $5.75 per shade from eBay. This was definitely a splurge purchase, based purely on the cute factor of the product packaging. There are a total of 9 shades but I’m not sure I would buy the remaining 7 shades.

I’m still a fan of Fyrinnae‘s Lip Lustres, though I personally find them more a special occasion lip product than for every day. Two colors I purchased recently for costuming purposes are Pierced (gunmetal) and Type A (garnet red).

Here is Pierced:

Here’s Type A:

Lip Lustres are a non-sticky, moisturizing lip color made from natural oils and pigments. Because of the mix of natural oils used, this formula will be thinner when warm and more solid when cold. Most of the colors are opaque and while not meant to be long wearing, I find they do tend to last a bit longer than a typical gloss. They have a slight vanilla scent and once set, there is very minimal transfer.

They can be purchased from Fyrinnae for $7 per tube. There are also sample sizes for $2 each.

I’m always trying to find a lip color that doesn’t dry out my lips, but is also long lasting. When Revlon released their Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, I thought they looked a lot like Tarte’s LipSurgence lip tints, but at a much lower price.

The first one I decided to buy is a coral orange color called Rendezvous. It was a great color for summer, which is about the time I had purchased this.

The large pencil is a twist-up design with a cap that sits securely so I wouldn’t worry about it coming off in my bag.

You can see in the swatch above that this color leans more towards orange. It is very pigmented with one swipe, but you can apply it with a lighter hand or layer it for a bolder look. Below are some lip swatches in direct and indirect sunlight.

The wear time on these is pretty good. Without eating and drinking, I can get 6 to 8 hours, but towards the end of that time, there is a bit of fading. If I eat or drink, I tend to reapply the balm for addition color. It will settle in any rough areas on your lips, so it’s better to exfoliate before applying.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with this balm stain. The price is very reasonable – you can find them for $8-10 depending on the store, but if there is a sale or a coupon can end up paying less.

Revlon Lip Butters have been my favorite lip products of 2011. Most commercial lip colors end up drying out my lips, leaving me gross, dry, flaky skin, but not these!

From left to right in all the above photos, the colors are Pink Truffle, Tutti Frutti, and Cherry Tart.

I picked these up at CVS during their BOGO50% sales (and grabbed a few for my mom), so they end up costing me about $4 each I think.

And now for swatches! Direct sunlight on the left and indirect on the right.

Pink  Truffle

Tutti Frutti

Cherry Tart

I found Pink Truffle was a bit drier than the other two, but not actually drying if that makes sense.

Out of these three, I’ve used Pink Truffle the most, followed by Cherry Tart. All of them go on sheer, but you can build color by applying more product.

Revlon Lip Butters are available anywhere Revlon products are sold. Be sure to check out your weekly ads to see which drugstores are having sales on Revlon products!

October’s Birchbox was a special edition curated by goop.com, featuring their must-try items.

I actually missed the opt-in e-mail, so I wasn’t sure if I would be getting this box. When I asked about it via Twitter, I was told that it was possible that I could still get on, so when my October box arrived in the special goop outer sleeve, I was quite excited!

Well… this box wasn’t nearly as exciting as I was expecting, but there were still a couple items I was interested in trying.

• Chantecaille Faux Cils Mascara
• DDF Wrinkle Resist Plus Pore Minimizer
• EVE LOM Cleanser and Muslin Cloth
• per-fekt Beauty Lip Perfection Gel
• Extra: Lemon Zest Luna Bar

First of all, I always keep a Luna bar in my purse because I get a little difficult to deal with when my blood sugar is low. My friends and I say that I am getting “stabby.” Lemon Zest is one of the few flavors I like, though sometimes it’s a little sweet – I’m currently liking the almond ones a bit more.

My face is currently recovering from a terrible reaction to a foundation I was trying, so I haven’t yet used the DDF Pore Minimzer or the EVE LOM cleanser, though both look good. I also like the little muslin cloth the EVE LOM cleanser comes with as I find those work better for me as an exfoliator than the usual scrubs which was a bit too gritty.

The item that kind of baffles me is the per-fekt Beauty Lip Perfection Gel. It’s in a very strange sample package and I have yet to open it to try it.

I’m not sure this month’s box was really worth it, but I’m continuing my subscription.

Birchbox is a monthly subscription service. For $10 a month, you’ll receive a box of four to five deluxe sized samples in the mail.

I’ve become quite a fan of NYX glosses after trying a few of them out. They’re not too sticky, have a pleasant scent, and they’re great colors.

Gold Pink is a slightly milky pink gloss with subtle gold shimmer. You can’t really see the shimmer, but under bright light, there’s a bit of sparkle. It’s a great every day sort of color.

The applicator is a standard doe foot, which works fine for this product. You can see from the swatch that is has a thick consistency. The shimmer looks silver in the photos, but it does look gold in other lighting.

Above are lip swatches in direct and indirect light. It’s definitely a very shiny gloss! It’s good for a few hours before I need to reapply and while I don’t think it moisturizes, it doesn’t dry out my lips at all.

This is one of my favorite glosses and I’m glad I picked it up.

Here’s a quick look at Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Crush!

This cream lipstick is an orange-y peach that is a nice change from the usual beige nude.

Here are lip swatches in direct and in-direct sunlight:

It’s not a very obvious color on me, but I like the slight color it adds. The application can be a little  uneven, but it doesn’t look too obvious.

I don’t find the lipstick to be moisturizing and extended wear (6+ hours) can be a little drying to my lips, but if I apply a lip balm before hand, it helps. On that note, this lipstick only lasts a couple hours before I feel like I need to reapply it.

Overall, this is a nice color, but I might not buy it again.

Here’s a look at four NYX Round Lipsticks I purchased during a sale at Cherry Culture!

The colors I picked were Circe, Frappucino, Tea Rose & Rose Bud. I love the black tubes and the label design. The color at the base of the tube is not a 100% match for the product,, but it’s very close. The caps stay securely on the tube and I have no worries about them coming open in a purse or bag.

(l-r: Circe, Frappucino, Tea Rose, Rose Bud)

Circe is a very nude lip color which I purchased solely to use with a gradient lip look (like this). Frappucino and Tea Rose are both more neutral creams, while Rose Bud has a little bit of golden frost.

Here are lip swatches for each color in direct and indirect sunlight:

Circe

Frappucino

Tea Rose

Rose Bud

As I’ve stated in a previous review, make sure your scrub your lips before applying because these lipsticks will show chapped skin. They are smooth, creamy, and non-drying, but don’t last very long. There is a very slight perfume taste, but if you leave the caps off for a couple hours, you can reduce that.

NYX Round Lipsticks retail for about $4.99, but you can usually find them on sale at Cherry Culture.

I’m fairly new to the Ulta brand as we don’t have a local store and I’ve only been able to shop in one when I visit Liz. On my last trip in April, they were running a promotion where you could get a free 13 piece gift set when you purchased $17.50 worth of Ulta brand items. I thought this was a good opportunity for me to try a selection of their products.

There is a lot of stuff packed into that makeup bag! There are two eyeshadow quads, a blush, a volumizing mascara, two eyeliner pencils, a lipstick, a double-ended lip gloss, mini nail polish, and three travel brushes.

I didn’t take any photos of the eyeliner pencils, but they were very standard – and hard. I’m not sure I would use them to line my eyes.

The eyeshadow squads are a good travel size and there is a small mirror as well as a sponge tipped applicator. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very impressed with the quality of the eyeshadow. They have a chalky texture and aren’t very pigmented. Between the two, the neutral quad is a bit better, but I probably wouldn’t have purchased either one.

The lipstick and lip gloss were better. The lipstick is in the color “211”. The peachy gloss is Princess and the reddish gloss is Mischief. The lipstick has a nice, creamy consistency but doesn’t last very long. The glosses aren’t too sticky and both are very wearable colors. The only thing I dislike is that it’s a double-ended tube. I’ve always found them kind of annoying to carry and use, but that’s a personal preference.

The blush (in Sweet Cheeks) was very unimpressive. It was chalky and even though you see a bit of shimmer in the compact, once it’s on the skin it looks powdery and there is no shimmer. The color was also very light and definitely wouldn’t work for me as a blush.

The nail polish is called Lav-ish. It’s a dusty lavender color with gold shimmer. I haven’t actually tried it yet (mostly because I forgot about it), but I’m excited to try it out.

Finally, this is the Ulta Voluptuous Volume mascara. I’m not sure I would call this voluptuous as it adds very little volume and barely noticeable length. Although other reviews said this mascara was runny, I found it to be very dry.

I am wearing five coats of mascara in the above photos. Five coats. On the other hand, after five coats, there was not clumping and it does look quite natural. My lashes didn’t feel sticky and they stayed flexible. This also washed off easily with soap and water. I do like the way this looks, but putting on five coats of mascara takes forever and I can’t see myself spending that much time on it for such unimpressive results.

Overall, I thought the nail polish, lip gloss, and the mascara were the best items in the gift bag. As for the rest of the items, I probably wouldn’t purchase the full sizes.

This month’s Birchbox features items for the jetsetter – great items you can take with you when you’re on your travels.

There were some really great items in this box that I’m excited to try!

• Georgie Beauty winks faux lashes
• Hair Rules Volumizing Shampoo
• La Fresh Eco-Beauty Oil-Free Face Cleanser Wipes
• theBalm Stainiac lip & cheek stain in Beauty Queen
• Extra: tili travel bag

I own two Stainiac lip & cheek stains by theBalm – Beauty Queen and Homecoming Queen – and I love both of them. Having this little travel size will be great for trips. Beauty Queen leaves a flush of color on my lips, but I have to make sure I’ve scrubbed off any dry skin or it applies unevenly.

The La Fresh Face Cleanser wipes will be coming with me on a trip at the end of August, so I haven’t used them yet. Same goes for the tili travel bag, which looks like a great alternative to the usual Ziplock bag.

I’ve been growing out my hair for the last several months and I’m discovering that my usual solid shampoos aren’t working as well. There are a few samples I have in rotation, but the volumizing shampoo from Hair Rules looks interesting. It claims to be a moisturizing sulfate-free shampoo  that will also seal split ends and tame frizzing – all of that sounds great!

Finally, the Georgie Beauty Winks Faux lashes. I’ve never actually worn false eyelashes before, so I’m pretty excited to get to try these out. I do wish that the tube of adhesive were resealable as i suspect it’ll all dry out before I can get another use out of it.

Birchbox is a monthly subscription service. For $10 a month, you’ll receive a box of four to five deluxe sized samples in the mail.