Loose Powder

My Birchbox was a little bit late this month and having seen the goodies my mother got in hers, I was anxious for it to arrive! Their theme for November is Getting Gifty and the box is supposed to include some gift ideas for you.

When I opened my box, I discovered I had a lovely bonus item! The black wood pop bracelet from BaubleBar is a special thanks from Birchbox for referring friends, giving feedback, and purchasing from the shop. Here’s a photo of the bracelet and contents of the box:

So what else did I get in this month’s box?

• Klorane Soothing Eye Makeup Remover with Cornflower water
• LaROCCA Skincare Champagne and Shimmer Body Polish – featuring 24K colloidal gold
• Oscar Blandi Jasmine Protein Mist
• Zoya Nail Polish in Noel (sample size)
• Treat: Chuao Chocolatier – Firecracker Chocopod (dark chocolate laced with chipotle and popping candy)

And some close up photos of the contents:

The Zoya polish I had already purchased in full size, so I’ll probably be gifting this sample, but I do love the color. It’s blue with fine silver glitter – great for winter.

The Oscar Blandi hair mist does have a nice, light scent (which I wouldn’t call jasmine) and works okay to revitalize second day hair. My hair doesn’t tangle much day to day, but it does add some smoothness without being sticky. I don’t use heat tools in my hair so I’m not sure how well this works for breakage. Would probably use the rest of the sample, but not sure about purchasing a full size.

I haven’t yet use the Klorane makeup remover, but I’ll definitely try it out with all these mascaras I’ve been wearing lately. I do like that it doesn’t contain any oils and is good for sensitive eyes.

LaROCCA’s body scrub has a texture similar to Body Shop’s scrubs.. of course the Body Shop scrubs don’t contain 24K gold. It’s a nice sample to try, but I don’t think I’ll be purchasing a scrub that’s so expensive!

I do love chocolate, so when I heard that Chuao samples were making their way into November’s box, I was excited! Unfortunately, I dislike both chipotle and popping candy.

Despite having items I wouldn’t purchase full sizes of, I’m quite happy with my box this month overall.

Ever since I finished using my last eye makeup remover, I’ve been looking for a new inexpensive brand to use. I picked up Rimmel London’s Gentle Eye Make Up Remover since it noted in bold letters of being “oil free” in addition to being able to remove waterproof makeup. The last oil free remover I tried was Benefit’s Gee! That was quick! As refreshing as that makeup remover made my face feel, it did not remove waterproof makeup as well as I would have liked.

When I first applied this makeup remover onto the cotton pad, I noticed that it felt a bit oily, but as soon as I wiped my eye makeup off my lids, I did not feel any oily residue on my lids. In fact it felt pretty clean and moist. The makeup remover had no problems cleaning off all the waterproof eye makeup I had on, and it did not have any problem removing waterproof mascara, which seems to be a problem with most waterproof eye makeup. I also tried using this remover to remove heavy smokey eye makeup, and the remover worked great!

Also the makeup remover solution is quite gentle on the eyes, which is always a plus for contact lens wearers.

For $6-$7, I think this makeup remover works great, and I highly recommend it.

ELF’s Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths are great for traveling, since they are pretty much all you need to remove your makeup at the end of the day. Another plus is that these remover cloths also remove waterproof makeup and it is not oily.

These cloths are a good size at 7’ x 7’ (18cm x 18 cm). The pre-moistened cloths are very soft and great as you wipe it over your skin. Additionally, there is a nice light scent. When I wipe my eyelids with these cloths, it does not irritate or scratch my skin. Also the aloe extract added into the formula also keeps my skin smooth and soft. I also like that these cloths can be rinsed in water, so you can use it to towel dry or clean any excess makeup or dirt you missed during your first wipe through.

However, there is alcohol in these wipes, so if your skin is sensitive to alcohol, be warned. Aside from that, I recommend these cleansing cloths due to its handiness and effective makeup removing formula as well as its soft cloths.

After finally using up my old eye makeup remover, I decided to try the bottle of Benefit’s Gee… that was quick! oil-free makeup remover I had lying around.

This makeup remover is advertised as “oil-free makeup remover for eyes & face”, and it does live up to its advertisement of being oil-free. When I wipe my face with this remover, my foundation is easily cleaned off and my face feels fresh and clean without any oily residue left behind.

However, this remover is not good for removing waterproof eye makeup. It removed my eye shadow pretty well. I’ve read reviews about this remover having problems with waterproof eyeliner. I used Urban Decay’s 24/7 glide on liner and Physician’s Formula gel liner, and I didn’t have too much problems in removing those, but it did take a bit more remover than when I used the oil based removers to clean everything. The main problem came from waterproof mascara. I usually only wear one coat of waterproof mascara and I was having problems removing the mascara. Even after adding more remover and wiping my eyes a couple more times, I still had some mascara cling to my lashes and I ended up with bad raccoon eyes that need more cleansing.

But this remover worked great when I only had regular mascara on. I recommend this makeup remover because it is great for removing foundation and non-waterproof makeup and some waterproof eyeliners, but if you want a good remover for waterproof makeup, then move along.

I got Benefit’s Gee… that was Quick! oil-free makeup remover as a free gift from Sephora. At retail, you can get the 8 oz. bottle of remover for $21.  That is pretty pricey for a makeup remover, especially one that doesn’t really remove waterproof makeup. But if you like Benefit, don’t mind the price, and just want an oil-free remover for your face, Gee… that was Quick! is a decent choice since it does make your face feel very clean and refreshed.

After reading a bunch of reviews online about various types of mineral powders with SPF protection, I decided to try Sheer Miracle. I purchased sample sizes of their foundation, finishing powder, blush, bronzer, and green and pink concealers.

The samples come in 1g jars, and they are sealed and clearly labeled. I was surprised to see that the foundation and finishing veils were full 1g jars with sifters. They were definitely worth the $2.50 price. It looks as though the foundation and mineral veils sample would last me about a month of daily use, since I only use a light coverage. The Green concealer and blush are also a decent amount, they are nowhere near full, but they do have quite a few uses in them. For the Pink concealer, since it is a cream it only comes with literally one tiny drop in the jar. For $2.50 I think that is a bit much. I’m sure there are a few uses in the sample, but it would be nice if the single drop were a bit bigger.

Mineral Foundation – Medium Light Neutral and Medium Tan

I generally use Medium Beige for Bare Escentuals foundations, and since I wasn’t sure what color I was for Sheer Miracle, I decided to try the Medium Light Neutral and the Medium Tan. Unfortunately, both colors didn’t work for me. The Medium Light Neutral ended up having a yellow undertone instead of a neutral undertone. As for the Medium Tan, even after being out in the sun hiking for hours, it was still a bit dark for me. Maybe after vacationing in Hawaii for a week, I can use the Medium Tan.

Aside from the poor color matching, the foundations are not matte so they still have a light shimmer to the powders, but not as much as the Bare Escentuals Original foundation, but the light shimmers does not bother me. The foundation gives pretty decent coverage and feels very light. Additionally, it is SPF 30 and I am all for longer sun protection for my face. It’s too bad the colors did not work for me. I would have loved to have had an alternate brand of foundation that cost less than Bare Escentuals.

Bronzer

Sheer Miracle only has one color for bronzer. I found the color to be a bit dark. I prefer my bronzer to be a bit lighter since my skin is already slightly tanned. But I guess with the darker bronzer color I just need very little of the bronzer, so the product would definitely last me a long time.

Blush – Sienna Rose

I picked Sienna Rose because it was recommended for those with Medium complexion. The sample has quite a bit of blush, and the blush is very pigmented like the bronzer. Just a very tiny bit of blush is enough to give your cheeks some color. I usually just tap the excess blush powder off of the cap and dip my brush lightly on the residual blush powder clinging to the cap for the amount of blush I use on my cheek, which is still ample color to give me a rosy hue. At first I thought it might be too much pigment to my liking, but the blush blends very well and gave me natural rosy cheeks with a hint of rouge.

The blush color is a rose color and has a bit of a shimmer in it, but when it is applied to the face, I don’t notice any shimmer on my face.

Finishing Veil – Matte

I really like this finishing veil. The veil is very light and you only need a little bit of powder for your whole face. Usually I would just dunk my kabuki brush once into the jar and that is more than enough to cover my whole face. This finishing veil kind of reminds me of the E.L.F. HD powder.

1g jar with sifter

Finishing Veil – Glow

Apparently, Sparkle is the new “Glow” because this finishing veil is SPARKLY. When I say sparkly, I mean sparkly because just after a dunk of my brush and a once over on my face, I looked like Twilight vampire. A couple years ago, this look might be fun, but if you do not want to look like the latest vampire fad. I would avoid this veil and stick to the matte. However, if you plan to be a sparkling fairy for Halloween, this veil would be perfect.

Concealer – Green

The Green concealer works pretty well, but because I wear such a light coverage of foundation on my face, I have to work a bit on blending the green in to prevent looking like I have splotches of green on face. However, the concealer does give decent coverage. I may prefer using this concealer under a liquid foundation, but that’s just me.

Concealer – Pink

This pink under eye concealer is a cream and “more than meets the eye” is the first thing that pops into mind when I see the little pink dot in the sample jar. The little dot sample of the pink concealer does go a long way because you need very little to get the coverage you need under your eyes. I’ve used this sample for a while, and I still have quite a lot of the tiny dot left. The light pink color works well to lighten the dark under eye circles and goes on very smoothly. Also because of the lightness of the pink it blends easily with foundation.

After a referral from Cyn, I have become an Eyes Lips Face (ELF) fan mainly because their products are good and at great prices. Additionally, they always have great coupon deals on their website. So much so that sometimes it feels like they are spamming your inbox.

As a result of the excess amount of coupons they send out, I discovered the ELF Professional Eye Makeup Remover Pads. Since they were only $1, I thought I’d give it a try. The small round container contains 18 single use pads, and it is advertised as fragrance free. The only fragrance that I can detect is a light soap cleanser scent.

Each cotton pad is pretty thin, but each pad is soaked in cleanser and one pad is more than enough to clean off heavy makeup on one eye. I’ve tried using one pad for two eyes with heavy dark eye makeup, and the pad takes off quite a bit of the makeup, but you still end up having streaks of color residue around the eyes and might need another pad anyway. I recommend using one pad for each eye if you have on heavy eye makeup. However, you can get away with using one pad for both eyes if you have lighter eye makeup on.

The remover does pretty decently in removing waterproof mascara and waterproof eyeliner, but there are some waterproof mascara that are a bit tougher to remove, but I found that if I leave the pad on the area a little longer before wiping, it will be able to remove more of the mascara.

Another positive for these eye makeup remover pads are that they do not leave an oily residue around the eye that other removers leave behind. After wiping off my eye makeup, my eye area feels very clean and fresh.

Even though this only costs $1, for 18 single use pads, it can become expensive especially if you are one to use heavy eye makeup, which means that this container would only last you a little over a week.  However, I think these remover pads would be great for traveling because it’s small and compact and not a liquid (no more spills!). Also these pads also eliminate the need to search for a cotton pad or tissue to use with your liquid removers, so that’s one less thing to carry in your makeup bag when you travel.

Pros: small and compact, no liquid, not oily, cleans off waterproof makeup well, great for travel

Cons: Only contains 18 single use pads

Everyone knows someone who knows someone who sells Mary Kay. It’s the more expensive Avon. Plus, well, to be real, those who sell MK get a bigger commission, and they know and love the product they sell. I actually ran into a convention of MK reps in an airport and after an eye-opening conversation, discovered that they do indeed still give out the pink Cadillacs, and that amused me. I actually don’t sell MK myself (though I am thinking about it – have been for awhile), so this review has the benefit of being unbiased in that I’m not linking everything back to my sales page.

Predominantly, the things I get from MK are skin care products. Their Velocity line has the medicated acne-treatment skin care, but I’m not a huge fan when I can use a combination of Clean & Clear and St. Ives products to get the same result. However, I do enjoy and utilise their TimeWise line of skin care products.

TimeWise is their anti-aging line, and while I wasn’t too concerned with those products at 19, I started trying a few of them anyway and in general, despite my excessive sun exposure, I’m seeing a fewer tiny lines and discolorations than others my age (which would be 26, while we’re disclosing to prove the usefulness of a product). My favorite is their TimeWise Moisturizer (for oily/combination skin) - it’s a very light moisturizer that you’re supposed to use day and night, but I never put anything on my face at night – that’s when my pores get to breathe. I’ve used over-the-counter moisturizers that feel greasy and make me break out, but this is the first one that’s passed all the tests. Oil of Olay is generally a recommended moisturizer because they are department-store quality (think the gals at Macy’s who are hawking brand names few can realistically afford) at over-the-counter prices. In my experience, even their formula for oily/combination skin made me break out a little. Your skin changes as your hormones change and you age, so this could very well no longer be the case, but at 19/20/21, I still had very angry skin, and Oil of Olay was not cutting it. I simply have not gone back and retried it, I’ve  become an MK brand whore, as it were. I use a very tiny amount and it goes a long way, so my single 3 fl. oz. is worth the money to me ($22). 

MK Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover: As Cyn already showed us, there are plenty of options for eye makeup removal. Since we’re talking Mary Kay, I thought I’d share my one of my favorite products, which is a fantastic eye makeup remover. It’s oil-free, and gentle on the skin in the eye area. Another plus, I accidentally poked myself in the eye with a Q-Tip removing eyeliner with the product, and I only suffered a poke in the eye, not a situation that required EMERGENCY EYE WASH from one of those goggle-sinks. So it seems to be gentle enough you can be a klutz and not blind yourself. Well, unless you poke yourself really hard with that Q-Tip. That could do some damage. ANYWAY, back to the product. It looks like it should be oily, because it separates in the bottle, but wonderfully, it’s not. I shake up the bottle, and drip the product (which is about the consistency of water) onto a Q-Tip for eyeliner and most eyeshadow removal. For mascara (even waterproof! I almost don’t want to know what magic is in this stuff – I just know it won’t give me cancer and isn’t tested on animals, so that’s enough for me right now) and sometimes with eyeshadow where I’ve done more than a quick swath with my Victoria Secret EyeShadow Wand, I use a cotton pad. You don’t need a lot of product, and while it doesn’t leave any residue behind, I do usually wash my face afterwards just in case anything is left behind. The big plus here? You just gently wipe. No scrubbing, no rubbing, just a gentle swish and it takes off everything I’ve thrown at it so far. Easily, simply, without irritation, residue, or hassle. Aside from the moisturizer, this has quickly become a favorite product now that I have to be all girly-professional for work.

 Satin Lips Set: I’ll admit up front, I hate that the balm no longer comes in a little pot. I kept my little pot, and tend to buy it in the tube, squeeze it all into the little pot, and stick it in the fridge to set it before I use it. Through some weird magic of chemistry (yes, it IS magic…leave me alone), it doesn’t go back to being all gooey unless it gets REALLY warm. At which point, back into the fridge overnight it goes! But back to the usefulness aspect of this duet. Wearing a lot of chapstick in general, inevitably you’ll get dead skin on your lips. Most of it comes off with a good regular scrub, but sometimes I just want to do this with my lips – and most facial scrubs are going to be a little harsher than you want on your lips. This isn’t called a scrub for that reason – it’s a buffing agent. It removes dead skin cells with a gentle, tiny-beaded (okay, so I’m going to do it anyway) scrub. After washing it off and patting your lips dry, putting on the balm is fantastic. It sinks right into your lips and, I know this might be funny to say, but it makes my lips feel refreshed. Even though there isn’t a minty tingle I usually associate with the word “refreshed”. And did I mention soft? I actually really like touching my lips after this process. I use the balm more often than the buffing agent, but I’ve found that if there is a build-up of dead skin cells on your lips it doesn’t absorb as well and can feel a bit waxy sitting on top of your lips. I don’t use this exclusively – more like when I’m feelin’ sassy. It has no scent, flavor, or color, and doesn’t in general play well with others (the no-smear lipstick from MK lives up to its name, but smeared when I put the balm on top…curious?), but is a useful product to keep your lips healthy.

Next time I’ll sing the praises of varying makeup products themselves, but these three are products that I keep myself supplied with on a regular basis and still haven’t gone out of style for me seven years after I bought my first “dose”.

I was asked to compare & review some of the cleansers I have used for eye makeup removal. Until recently, I haven’t used many difficult to remove items like mascara and eyeliner so my regular facial cleansers and a wash cloth seemed to work just fine.

However, once I began using eye primers (like Pixie Epoxy), mascara, and heavy eyeliner for smokey looks, I quickly discovered that the normal cleansers weren’t going to be effective. Sure, they worked — it just required a bit more scrubbing, which might be fine on other parts of your face, but around the eye? Not so much.

In this article, I’m going to talk about three products: Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple Foaming Cleanser, Philosophy’s Just Release Me Eye Makeup Remover, and Burt’s Bees Orange Essence Facial Cleanser.

You might be thinking it isn’t fair to compare one eye makeup remover against two face cleansers. Well, why not? Some people suggest using sunflower oil and that certainly isn’t a cleanser!

To start with, I picked several eye products: e.l.f. mineral eyeliner w/powdered eye shadow on top, e.l.f. waterproof eyeliner, NYC liquid eyeliner, Wet N Wild liquid liner, e.l.f. sugar kiss glitter liner, and NYC waterproof mascara.

And made four sets of lines on my arm with each product. I used Tarte Clean Slate primer underneath and let everything for about 3 hours.

My method for each product will be the same: I’ll use a q-tip with the product and some water. At the top of the test patch, I’ll use minimal pressure when rubbing on the product. Below that on the same patch, I’ll use a bit of scrubbing pressure, which you probably wouldn’t use on your eyelid. Then rinse with water and see what happens!

Now for the results!

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