Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask in Smashed - Review and Swatch Pic

 

 

I can't take a picture of my Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask in Smashed that looks as good as this one which is from Sephora's website. I meant to have this post up a few days ago, but alas, I got too busy.

I bought this because I loved the clear Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask so much and it has become such a holy grail for me this past winter. I found myself wearing the clear one so much that I wouldn't touch a lipstick for days sometimes. I was starting to feel a bit plain Jane so I bought this product in a coloured version, known as Smashed which is a berry colour. There is also one in Champagne which is a rose gold pearl. I am more of a berry girl so I opted for Smashed.

 

This product is $26 U.S. or $30 Canadian and the tube contains 0.52 oz./15g and is made in Canada. Sweet. The amount of product you get is excellent. The colour of Smashed is not loud and is very subdued. It does give your lips a bit of colour though which is what I craved for using this during daytime hours. I find you can build the colour up a bit but it's still quite sheer. Super glossy and pretty though I think.

 

Some of you who read my previous post on the clear version of lip product know that I had a serious issue with the packaging. I am pleased to report that I have had no issues with the packaging of Smashed so far. I contacted Bite's head office here in Toronto and I was told that they had asked the company who do their packaging to improve it based on customer's experience over the past year. They said they think the problem should be solved on new tubes go forward and that they made the change for the launch of Smashed. Here is the link to my previous review/post of the clear version. Please note that my tube of the clear one now looks 10,000 times worse than it did in the pic I posted here. I will be sure to show you what is left of it when it hits my monthly empties one of these days. 

 

http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2015/01/bite-beauty-agave-lip-mask-review.html   

 

 

I am very happy with this product although I do think it is a little pricey. I feel good about the ingredients they use as opposed to what they put in similar other brand products. Nothing on the market works as well as this if you have dry, cracked, irritated lips so to me it is worth every penny and more. Here is a picture of how it looks on me. Just a hint of colour as you can see.

 

 

 

 

Packaging: 10/10

Pigmentation: 7/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 10/10 (for what you get it's a reasonable price)
Ingredients: 10/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Comfortable to Wear: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10 (great shine!)
Would I buy this again? I would by the case
Overall Rating: 10/10

Tony Moly Bbo Bbo Lip Balm in Honey - Review

I ordered this Tony Moly Bbo Bbo Lip Balm in Honey from Sephora a few weeks ago. While a lot of people think the packaging is cute, I think it's kind of bulky and obnoxious. Since I don't plan to travel with this, and it just sits on my night table, the packaging is not a huge deal. I paid $11 Canadian for this. It is $9 U.S. and each one is 7.4g or 0.26 oz. which is quite a bit bigger than a Burt's Bees lip balm.

Overall, I have to say that the product works well, smells lovely (like honey), moisturizes, is super comfortable and it doesn't slide off of your lips much. I think the price is reasonable. I only have two complaints about the product. One is the packaging as I already mentioned and the second is the ingredients. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought this, but the third ingredient is Petrolatum which is basically mineral oil. Not good for sure, very cheap and many would argue very bad for you. I don't use this lip balm daily as a result. I will not repurchase it for that reason alone. If you aren't fussed about ingredients nor the packaging of this balm, you might enjoy this lip balm very much! There is something nice, cozy and comforting about the smell.

I have to say though that although this product works well, it can't hold a candle to the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask. Speaking of which I have some news on that (got a new colour and have an update on the packaging situation) and will share in the next day or two.

 

 

Packaging: 7/10

Pigmentation: N/A
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 8/10
Texture: 9/10
Price: 10/10 (for what you get it's a reasonable price)
Ingredients: 4/10
Travel Worthy: 5/10
Comfortable to Wear: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? NO
Overall Rating: 7/10 

 

Pixi by Petra Beauty Correction Concentrate Concealer Brightening Peach - Review and Swatch

I bought this jar of Pixi by Petra Beauty Correction Concentrate Concealer Brightening Peach over a year ago. Is that a long name or what? The reason I haven't blogged about it is because it is just one of those products that I neither loved nor hated and I felt very on the fence about it for the longest time. I have used this product quite a bit over the past year plus and I now feel like I can give you an honest review about it. I bought this at a Target store in Florida. My local Target here in Canada (soon to be closed) never had this product in stock. Hence, why Target is leaving Canada - they just never had the same inventory as the U.S. stores do and Canadians had certain expectations that were never met. Going off on a tangent....

Back to Pixi. This retails for between $15-$17 U.S. I believe. Not cheap when you consider that there are high end competitors pedaling their products for a few dollars more. I think the packaging is kind of cute yet creppy all at the same time. Look at this up close picture of the product (please excuse how dirty the packaging looks as it has been well used for the past year). Is it me, or doesn't that look creepy? Like the Mothman Prophecies or something.

I will say though that you get a lot of product here and it is in a glass jar so kudos to Pixi for that. There is 3g or 0.5 oz. in a jar. When you compare it to Bobbi Brown's 1.4g or 0.05 oz., you can see you get double the amount. I find this product to be more pink than peach. I believe peach is what you really need to cover under eye circles and not so much pink.

Like I said, I have been using this product quite a bit over the past year and I have barely put a dent in it. It applies smoothly and doesn't crease. My main complaint about it is that I find it fades into your skin easily. It doesn't seem to have a lot of longevity. In fact, I sometimes see it fading as I am applying it and I have to keep putting more on to cover my circles before I put some foundation or skin coloured concealer on top of it. I feel that correctors should sit on the skin not absorb into it. It's also too pink and not peach enough for my taste.

I really wanted to love this product but it just isn't cutting it enough for me. I do think it works to some extent and it is better than nothing to correct the dark circle colour under your eyes. For drug store stuff (a bit pricey for the drug store but sure whatever) I think it might be the best thing you can find at that level. If you want a lot of product (that will last you until the end of time), want to spend as little as possible and don't have horrendous dark circles like me, this may be a reasonable choice. I would caution though that the colour of this may not work on some skin tones. I can't think of which ones at the moment, but this is really pigmented pink although it fades into your skin fast.

Okay, here is the swatch. It's quite pink, no? Swatch on left, blend out on the right.

 

 

Packaging: 9/10  (point off for being creepy)

Pigmentation: 10/10  swatch   6/10 once applied

Easy to Work With: 7/10 (applies super easily but fades)

Longevity: 5/10

Texture: 9/10 

Price: 7.5/10 for what it is

Ingredients: 7/10 

Travel Worthy: 8/10 (it is a bit heavy though due to the glass but it is small sized) 

Attractiveness of Product: 6/10

Would I buy this again? No

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

January 2015 Favourites!

This is my first monthly favourites post! I hope you like it. I feel like a bit of a jerk showing you a few of these items as they were limited edition. The beauty world is a funny place though, so you never know when a cosmetics company might repromote them. I hope they do....Lancôme and MAC, are you listening???

Okay, let's start off with Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup Foundation. I really like this foundation and I have been wearing it for the last couple of years off and on. I normally wear Estee Lauder's Double Wear Light but my local department store is sold out of my shade (again) so I decided just to dip into the regular Double Wear in my stash. Yes, I was feeling too lazy to get it at Sephora and also I get a lot of free deluxe Estee Lauder samples at this department store so I feel compelled to get my foundation there. Anyway, it's great stuff. Not sure why I keep putting it aside except that it is more heavy duty that the Double Wear Light and I don't always need as much full coverage. A solid foundation, never cakes and lasts all day. My shade is 2N1 Desert Beige 12.

Okay, looks like we are already at me being a jerk time. I really love, and have recently rediscovered (for the 100th time) my MAC Kohl Power Eye Pencil in Sense of Style. It was a limited edition product from the MAC Love Lace Collection a few years ago. It is described as a darkened blue-teal. To me, it looks straight up navy. The colour is so sophisticated and the formula of this kohl is particularly good. This eyeliner reminds me of darker, better quality version of MAC's Prussian eyeliner. This one doesn't transfer and has fantastic longevity. MAC, please repromote this!

Speaking of eyeliners, one of my favourites, which I have recently picked up again is the Merle Norman Purely Mineral Eye Pencil in Dusk. It's a hazy grey blue colour. I think it looks fantastic with brown eyes. I have had this particular eyeliner for ages, but Merle Norman still sells it. It looks great smoked out on the upper lash line. This is by far one of the best products that Merle Norman makes.

While we are still on the topic of eyeliners...Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Carbon Black is the bomb. I love this liquid liner more than any I have ever used before. I do have the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner waiting in my stash to be tried, but I can not tell you how much I love my Stila liquid liner. It's smudge proof too and I need that!

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask. My tube is destroyed and looks like hell. The packaging on it is some of the worst packaging that I have ever seen. Every time I touch the tube, the colour comes off all over my hand. I emailed Bite Beauty about this 3 weeks ago and haven't heard back!!! I will be calling them directly soon. All of that aside, this is the best lip care product on the market. I have worn it multiple times per day for the past 2-3 months. Nothing has ever saved my lips in the winter before like this. I would buy every single tube I could find it I thought they were going to discontinue it.

Back to being a jerk again. MAC Pressed Amber Blush. I am not into a lot of warm colours, but this blush knocks my socks off. It was a limited edition blush from a few years ago, not sure what collection it was. This is easily one of my favourite blushes. It is so flattering on and easy to use. It looks good with everything. If MAC ever repromotes this blush, you have got to get it!

Tarte Amazonian Clay Long-Wear Blush in Exposed. This is one hell of a nice blush. I have been wearing it back and forth with MAC's Pressed Amber. This is such a nice, neutral, all purpose blush. It looks good with anything. If you don't already own it, you need to check it out.

Last two products. I have mentioned this product before. Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Flawless Wear Concealer in 02 Light Medium. This is the perfect face concealer for minor blemishes and imperfections. It blends in seamlessly with both of my Estee Lauder foundations and it works well with other foundations and BB products as well. It's quick and easy and gets the job one.

Last, but not least, the lipstick that I have been wearing all month. It saddens me to speak of it because it is no longer available and hasn't been for a very long time. It's Lancôme Sheer Magnetic Fruits Delicieux. It's a sheer, but buildable purple brown lipstick. It works well with the current on trend dark purple or brown lip. The nice thing about it is that it isn't matte and looks good with a clear gloss. So if you aren't feeling fully committed to a strong dark lip, this looks a lot lighter and conservative workplace friendly. I am literally scrapping the bottom of the tube at present. I have had this for so long, it's shameful. It's so moisturizing and lovely. My only complaint would be that it isn't long lasting so you have to touch up quite a bit with it on. Lancôme, this was the best lipstick you ever made, please bring it back!    

Stila In The Moment - Review and Swatches

As some of you may know, the Stila eyeshadow palette In The Moment, pictured above, has been recently discontinued. I did a blog post about this a month ago. You might be wondering why on earth I am bothering to do a review on this palette now. There is a method to my madness. You see, Stila has a habit of repromoting their eyeshadows into new palettes. So needless to say, I was not surprised when I saw that Stila has come out with a new palette that, lo and behold, contains some eyeshadows from this and other similar recently discontinued Stila palettes.

The new palette Stila has out is called Nouveau Natural Eye Shadow Palette. This new palette has 12 eyeshadows, 5 of which were in the In the Light, In the Moment and In the Know palettes. The eyeshadows Instinct and Desire from In The Moment are in the new palette. I have a funny feeling that this might only be the beginning of Stila repromoting some of their recently discontinued eyeshadows. So all that being said, I thought now would be a good time to post the swatches for future reference.

I won't say much about In The Moment as a whole because it is discontinued. I enjoy this palette very much. It would be a good one to travel with as you can do a lot of looks with it and it's slim and lightweight. All of the colours have good pigmentation even though a couple of them didn't swatch so well on my arm. They all blended well together. The darker shades and the purples are the stars of this palette The violet and purple colours are surprisingly wearable. They look kind of neutral on and don't scream "look at my purple eyeshadow" on the eyelid. These are not the smoothest or creamiest eyeshadows on the market, but they do a damn fine job and have great longevity.

You get 10 eyeshadows in this palette along with a Smudge Stick in Tetra. I haven't used it yet I just realized. My bad. I will update this post once I do. You can apply the eyeshadows wet or dry. I haven't tried them wet yet. The total weight of this palette is 0.49 oz. for the eyeshadows which is 0.049 oz. or 1.39 g for each shadow. That is pretty close to the size of a MAC eyeshadow. If I had to choose one colour that I am not crazy about, it would be Desire, which is funny, because that is one of the colours that they have already repromoted!

My favourites are Impulse, Glance, Improvise, Catalyst, Wonder, Spontaneous and Captivate. Captivate reminds me of MAC's Trax, only Captivate is more grey and pink if that makes sense. Spontaneous is the more golden version of Stila's cult favouite, Kitten. Whim and Wonder are colours that I have seen in a hundred different other palettes. The quality of them is good though here.

Okay, so the ones pictured above here are Instinct, Impulse and Glance on the top with Desire, Wonder and Spontaneous on the bottom row.

I picked up this palette for about $25 I believe on Sephora's website when they put it on sale near Christmas. This is a quality palette and it was well worth the money and more. In the above picture we have Glance (again), Improvise and Catalyst on the top row and on the bottom row is Spontaneous (again), Whim and Captivate. Pretty, huh?

Okay, swatch time! Below is Instinct, Impulse, Glance, Improvise and Catalyst from left to right. 

Next, in the picture below is Desire, Wonder, Spontaneous, Whim and Captivate.

I am sad to see Stila's old palettes go. What about you? Hopefully, the new ones will be good too.

Packaging: 9/10     

Pigmentation: 8.5/10
Easy to Work With: 9/10
Longevity: 8/10
Colour Stays True: 9/10
Texture: 7/10
Price: 10/10 
Ingredients: 8/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10 
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10 
Would I buy this again?  I would if I could
Overall Rating: 9/10

January 2015 Empties!

It's that time again...empties! I know my empties last month were pretty sad, but this month is much better. I was planning to do an eyeshadow palette review next, but I want to throw out/recycle these empties tonight! So let's get started.

1. Gold Bond Ultimate Restoring Skin Therapy Cream CoQ10 - I don't believe I have ever done a review on this product. I had this tube at my desk at work for most of last year. This cream, or lotion if you prefer, worked very well. It didn't wow me, but it did a damn fine job. Would consider repurchasing.

2. Nivea Body Milk Pure & Natural - This has been in my monthly empties a few times now. It's a really good daily lotion for both summer and winter weather. I like that the ingredients aren't a chemical cocktail. I would definitely repurchase, but I think I am starting to get a bit bored with it. I still have another big bottle in my cupboard to finish. Here is the link to my full review on it:  http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2013/10/nivea-body-milk-pure-natural-review.html

3. Estee Lauder Perfectly Clean Splash Away Foaming Cleanser - I did a review on this recently and I mentioned at the time that they have changed the formula for this product. This version, the old version, is fantastic!!! I have tried the new version, and I still like it, but it is not as good as the previous formulation. Updated review to the post below coming soon:
http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2013/10/nivea-body-milk-pure-natural-review.html

4. Savon a l'ancienne Extra Pur Marseille "Orange" - Some of you are probably saying, "say what?" right about now. Translation - French Liquid Hand Soap in the scent "orange". I am only mentioning such a mundane item as hand soap because I really liked this one. This is one of my favourite hand soap brands. They never smell overpowering, they don't leave a residue and the ingredients are good. You enjoy washing your hands with this stuff. You can get it at the likes of Winners, Marshalls etc.

5. Bumble and Bumble Bb Prep - I had mixed feelings about this product. I don't think it is meant for my hair type. Likely will not repurchase. Here is the link to my full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2014/06/bumble-and-bumble-prep-review.html

6. Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara - One of my holy grails. The only mascara on the market, to my knowledge, that doesn't smudge on me. This is my "work" mascara as it does the job and lasts all day but doesn't give me as much "va-voom" as other mascaras. Already repurchased. Link to full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2013/02/estee-lauder-double-wear-zero-smudge.html

7. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - I really like this as this product has grown on me with time. I have an obscene stash of this stuff from various past gift with purchase bags. My review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2014/10/estee-lauder-advanced-night-repair.html

8. Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation - Okay, looks like it's an Estee Lauder kind of month. I love this foundation and it is a frequent amongst my empties as some of you know. Will repurchase this week. Wow! I still haven't done a full review on this product. Shame on me. I wear Intensity 2.0.

9. Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Treatment - I couldn't wait to finish this product. I really didn't like it and it did jack squat for my hair. I felt compelled to finish it and see if I ever had a good hair day with it. Negative. Will not repurchase ever. Full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2014/02/marc-anthony-oil-of-morocco-argan-oil.html

10. Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara in Black - This is my current favourite mascara. I was sad when it dried up. I have another sample of it waiting in my stash. The review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2014/07/bobbi-brown-smokey-eye-mascara-review.html

So that's it for my monthly empties! I will be back in a couple of days with a palette review as well as my first attempt at a monthly favourites blog.