Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Quick Purchase Review: Urban Decay Vice 2 and NAKED 3 Palettes

Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette came out a few months ago and NAKED 3 shortly after that.  I'm only now getting to my review of them.

The colors in the palette were gorgeous and looked like colors that I would use. I especially loved the jewel-toned colors. While the colors look gorgeous in the palette, unfortunately it didn't translate when using it--at least on me. It was quite disappointing and after trying it out 2 times, I have given up and will put it into my blog sale page next month.


I have not been loving Urban Decay's eye shadows lately. While I know that many people love the new formulation, it doesn't work for me. I find that many of the colors now come out much, much darker when applied than what it looks like in the pan.

I had also purchased NAKED 3. I don't know why except that I got caught up in the hype. I also had high hopes for it since it was more pink toned but it also didn't work out too well for me. Somehow, I just can't wear neutrals. I was so glad that I was able to give it away to a very good friend to use.


How do you feel about Urban Decay's new formulation? (I know, it's probably been over a year since the new formulation came out.)

*Kat*

P.S. Since I knew that I wasn't keeping these items, I used "good" pictures from Sephora instead of taking it myself.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Using My Stash--December and January

I was going to separate the items that I used in December and January but everything ended getting muddled up so I can't remember which was which. That's what happens when you're not around at home much.

I did do a really quick cleaning of my stash and these are items that I feel badly about but had to dump. Most of them were really old and not being used. I'm sure they were way beyond their expiration date.



I will not list them out because it'll be too time consuming. Sorry!

I also had to dump about 6 of these--all the same item.



I had purchased two boxes of these and used only a few from my boxes because I kept on getting packs as gifts from people. It was much easier to reach for those loose packs than to open up my boxes to get at them. Unfortunately the ones I bought had expired by more than 4 months.

Body Wash:



Dr. Brommer's Magic Soap in Baby Mild and Green Tea. I like these soaps but really missed my Naive brand and other asian brand body washes. I might purchase again in the future.

Face Masks:



Again, in these past couple of months, I have been not sticking to my wanting to mask on the weekends. I want to and have many, many masks to use but can't seem to get on the routine of doing so. I have to do better! All of these masks were really nice to use. I'm currently using the same DHC skin care line as the mask so it was nice to be able to use the mask too.

Cosmetics:



I managed to use up some staples in my stash, several of which are favorites. DHC Q10 Gel. I used it as a serum and liked it especially since I'm using the whole skin care line. I have some other serums in my stash that do need to be used first before considering whether or not I will repurchase. Biore UV Aqua Rich Whitening Sunscreen. This was okay as sunscreens go. I used it on my neck and arms as I didn't like it for my face. I'm really particular about sunscreens on my face in that it can't feel or smell like a sunscreen. Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro Primer. I love this primer. It's inexpensive and works well on me. Probably one of the few Western drugstore products that I like. I have repurchased. Urban Decay Original Eyeshadow Primer Potion is a staple in my stash. I usually use up a tube in a year. I usually buy it during Sephora's VIB sale, which I did this past year but can't find it. I'm currently using a mini tube that I have for traveling. Benefit "That Gal" primer. It was a mini and it lasted me for a month. I liked it but when I looked at the full-sized product, I didn't like the packaging it was in. It's also a bit pricey so I will stick with Rimmel. Clarisonic Plus brush head. I replace mine every 3 - 4 months so it was time to change.



Sephora Daily Makeup Brush Cleaner is something that I use every day to quick clean my brushes. I try to wash my brushes every week to 2 weeks. Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation. I really like this foundation and actually used it all up. In the end, it started being a little too light for me so I purchased another one in a darker shade. Canmake Shading Powder is something that I really like. I don't use it every day like I used to but it's great for shading and contouring. K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow Pencil. This was a great eyebrow pencil but a bit pricey so I didn't repurchase it.

At this point, I'm not sure if I'll be using anything up in this month. 

*Kat*

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Purchase Review L'Oreal Infallible Butterfly Collection

Sorry for the lack of posts! The last three months have been extremely busy for me, with me not living at home much for most of January. At the end of January, I was wandering around KMart for work and happened to spy a display with the new L'Oreal Infallible Butterfly collection.

6 new permanent colors: 756 Always Pearly Pink, 757 Silver Sky, 760 Timeless Blue Spark, 755 Gilded Envy, 758 Purple Priority, 759 Burst Into Bloom 


I was actually quite surprised by how pricey it was so I ended up getting only 4 colors for myself. I did pick up all 6 for someone else, just in case, not realizing that it was going to be part of the permanent line. I will be returning them since she hopes that she'll be able to get them for much less than I did.

I kept Silver Sky, Always Pearly Pink, Burst Into Bloom and Timeless Blue Spark. I swatched it over primer.


As you can see, Silver Sky and Always Pearly Pink are quite light and is what you'd expect from a Spring collection. I really like Timeless Blue Spark and have been using it frequently.

In my opinion, these Infallible are not quite up to par with the other Infallible shadows in my collection. These have fine micro glitters that I find on other parts of my face as the day goes on. I also think that because there are these glitters in the shadow, the texture is very slightly gritty and not silky smooth.

The Butterfly collection looks very beautiful but I was quite disappointed by the two lighter colors coming out very light. I think that they will be good as highlighting colors. The star of the 4 colors that I have is Timeless Blue Spark. It is a nice shade of blue with great pigmentation.

*Kat*