Loose Powder

My December Birchbox arrived last week, but I’ve only just had the chance to take photos of the contents. This month’s theme is the holidays, of course, and the usually pink outer box had festive white snowflakes! Inside the box, the plum tissue paper was replaced with one that is white with very fine pearlescent glitter. Very pretty!

So very pretty! Definitely saving the tissue to reuse for gifting. Inside the box were five items that should all be fun to try out:

• Benefit Cosmetics, The POREfessional
• Harvey Prince Ageless (Perfume)
• Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Birchbox Pink
• Orofluido Beauty Elixir hair treatment
• Extra: Showstoppers Designer Fashion Tape
• Extra: EBoost Orange Natural Energy Booster

I haven’t used these products yet, but the Jouer samples I’ve gotten in my Birchboxes have all been great. The fashion tape could come in handy… if I ever wear a fancy dress that would need them, of course!

The Harvey Prince perfume is a light, fruity scent with notes of pink grapefruit, pomegranate, mango, and jasmine. I also love that these luxe perfume samples are now tiny sprayers instead of the traditional stopper tops which could get everywhere when you try to open them.

I don’t usually drink any of those energy boosting solutions, but perhaps I should give this a try as I’ve been feeling kind of run down lately.

Not super-wowed by this month’s box, but I’m still loving the monthly box of treats so I’m keeping my Birchbox subscription!

I hadn’t heard of Jordana Cosmetics until I was scouring KMart for inexpensive lip glosses. I was, of course, rather skeptical of them – what else could I think about a $1.99 lip gloss? When I was at the KMart, though, they were buy one get one free, so why not give them a try?

Lip Out Loud Super Shiny Glosses come in 15 colors in several finishes, all named with texting shorthand. The first two I picked were TTYL and ASAP.

The glosses I picked both have visible duochrome glitter and are both rather sheer. These glosses also have a fruity flavor and smell that reminds me of a watermelon Jolly Rancher. At first, I wasn’t at all liking that, but having used these glosses for a while, I don’t mind anymore.

The applicator is an extended doe foot soft applicator. In the swatches, ASAP is on top and TTYL is on the bottom.

These glosses are great! They last a few hours and aren’t very sticky.  The price is also good and the packaging is decent quality thick plastic tube.

Jordana Cosmetics are available online at their website, KMart, and grocery stores.

While on the hunt for inexpensive lip glosses that don’t dry out my lips, I decided to try out New York Color’s Liquid Lipshine Gloss. They’re pretty affordable at $2.50 each and are available at Target and most drug stores.

The first two colors I picked to try are Nude York City and Honey on the Hudson.

In the swatch picture, Honey on the Hudson is on top and Nude York City is on the bottom.

The glosses are stickier than most other glosses I’ve used. There’s also a very heavy vanilla scent that I’m not particularly fond of. The applicator is a long spongy end and more flexible than the normal doe tip.

I found the wear to be about average. I don’t think it helped to keep my lips from drying – which is a big feature I want from gloss. In fact, after a couple days of wear, my lips started peeling. Gross. So, while these are inexpensive, they didn’t really work for me, I don’t like the scent, and I won’t be buying more.

Eyeko is a brand I have recently become a fan of. I also joined their Ambassador program to earn money back from sales. My free gift from my first sale was one of the London Lips lip glosses in Soho.

The gloss comes in a squeeze tube with an angular applicator. I prefer wand applicators as I find that the squeeze tubes are kind of messy. The gloss is rather sticky and is a hot pink color with a fruity scent.

The ingredients are listed as: Polybutene, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Paraffinum Liquidum(Mineral Oil), Ceresin, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Polyethylene, Glyceryl Behenate / Eicosadioate, Hydroxystearic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum (Fragrance)

London Lips glosses are available from Eyeko for $10.

I’m always in search of a good lip balm. Unfortunately, a lot of them end up being duds because they either don’t actually moisturize or work for a little while then make my lips peel. Awful!

When I read some reviews of Covergirl’s new NatureLuxe gloss balms, I decided to try them out. The new NatureLuxe line boasts natural ingredients and the SPF 15 gloss balms are, “fortified with mango and shea butter, this feel-good formula leaves your lips feeling decadent and delicious.”

The two colors I picked up first are Hibiscus (215) and Anemone (225). Both of these glosses are rather sheer, but still tinted enough to leave a subtle wash of color. I’ve been using them for about two weeks and they haven’t dried out my lips. I do have to reapply more often than some of my other glosses, but it isn’t too much of a bother.

Photos and swatch of  Hibiscus:

Photos and swatch of Anemone:

Covergirl NatureLuxe gloss balms can be purchased anywhere you can find Covergirl products (drug stores, Target, Walmart, etc) and average $7each.

While I was picking up my Kat Von D palettes a couple months ago, I noticed that Sephora had a few of Kat’s Lightning Glosses on sale. Most of them were either too bright a red or too dark a purple, but the sheer glittery gold of Stripper was more wearable for me.

The tube has a silver rose design on it and like most glosses, it has a doe foot applicator. I’m a fan of the clear wand, which is a nice bit of extra detailing.

The gloss itself is very sheer, but has a slight champagne tint and lots of micro glitter. It has a sweet scent that reminds me of a cherry popsicle or a cherry Jolly Rancher.

I haven’t used this gloss too much, but I did find that it lasts a little longer than some other glosses before needing to be reapplied. I would probably buy another one of these if I found a color I liked.

Always on the look out for a great new gloss, I decided to try e.l.f.’s Mineral Lip Gloss. First, like everything else at e.l.f., they are a great price: $3 for a .22 oz tube and even less if you use any of the coupons that are often about.

I’d never used these glosses before, but as I’m trying to stop using makeup items that contain parabens, I was really attracted to the, “no parabens, no preservatives, no chemical dyes,” part of this gloss.

The ingredients are as follows:

Mineral Oil, Coconut (Cocos Nucifera) Oil, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Mica, Silica, Tocopherol Acetate(VE), Retinol(VA), Titanium Dioxide （CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Mica (CI 77019).

Mineral oil has a 2 to 4 rating at SkinDeep, but level 4 seems to be when it’s aerosolized. Still, that’s better than the ethyl-, methyl-, and butyl- parabens in cosmetics that rate a 5 or higher.

I picked Sorority Girl and Fierce as my first two colors. Of course the swatches on the site and the actual colors aren’t even close, but it’s okay. The colors go on sheer with a wash of color.

Having used both glosses for a few days, I have to say they are non-drying and if I’m not eating or drinking, they last for a few hours. They also aren’t very sticky, which is great.

I didn’t take a picture of the applicator wand, but it’s a standard doe foot. It doesn’t pull out much product, though, so I usually have to dip it twice for one application. Not a big deal.

Overall, I am a fan of these glosses and will probably keep one in my purse.

I currently have two awesome lip glosses I’ve been using regularly and figured I would share them here! On a day-to-day basis I don’t wear a lot of makeup, but lip gloss is a staple… probably the only staple I really have at this point, lol. When I find good glosses I like to hang on to ‘em, and I love the two I’m using now.

Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush lip gloss – Puddin’ Pie
This was a hesitant buy after I tried the VS Sweet Talk lip gloss a loooong time ago (which I think was among their first lip glosses?). I didn’t mind that gloss because it was so shiny & lasted a really long time, but it was so sticky that it got a little aggravating to wear. This new Beauty Rush gloss is formulated much better; it’s still sticky, but not bad enough to make you not want to wear it. The flavor I got, Puddin’ Pie, is absolutely yummy and seriously tastes like chocolate pudding. The color is pink in the tube with sparkles, and on your lips it comes out shiny & a bit sparkly, with a teeny touch of pink color. It also lasts quite a long time on your lips. I don’t know about the other colors/flavors but this one is great, definitely worth giving a shot!

C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint – Magenta Mint
I have never met a Bigelow lip gloss I didn’t like, but this one is one of my favorites. It has 2% peppermint oil in it, advertised “for fresh breath” although I haven’t found that to make a difference, but I love the minty tingle! I bought a pretty strong cinnamon oil one from them one time, and the ones with the peppermint oil are much better. The color of this one is Magenta Mint, and looks darker in the tube than it comes out. It gives you slight color & a whole ton of shine. As compared to the Beauty Rush, it doesn’t last quite as long because it isn’t as thick, but it does feel better on your lips.

Both of these glosses are available for about $7/tube: the Beauty Rush obviously from Victoria’s Secret, and the Bigelows I get at Bath & Body Works. The Bigelows go on sale pretty frequently. I’m using both about equally and am quite happy for now with them!