Nivea A Kiss Of Olive Oil & Lemon Moisture Rich Lip Care - Review

I have a small rant and rave before I get into today's short review. Nivea doesn't sell this product in the Olive Oil and Lemon scent/flavour here in Canada. What is up with that??? I even checked their "Canadian" website and sure enough this is not a scent that is listed. Instead, we Canadians get stuck with the scents that no one gives damn about like Mint and Minerals or some such rubbish.

During my last several trips to the U.S. over the past few years, I have had to search high and low for this scent and struck out each and every time except the last time. I cannot locate this scent in any drug store (and believe me I have looked in hundreds!) in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and Nevada state. Ask my husband, I drove him nuts on the hunt for this elusive product! I finally found it in a Ulta just outside of Buffalo, NY. Hallelujah!

So was my mission worthwhile? It was. I have to say that I have purchased other Nivea lip care products and this one is by far the best. I am really enjoying it. I am sad that I only bought one. I will definitely be picking this one up again (if I can find it) the next time I am stateside. This lip balm smells nice, glides on well and moisturizes very well. Next to Bite Beauty Lip Agave Mask and my Burt's Bees, this is likely coming in as my third favourite uncoloured lip balm.

There isn't much else to say about this product. I think I only paid $2 or $3 U.S. for it. It's good stuff! I like to wear it to bed at night.

Packaging: 10/10

Pigmentation: N/A
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 10/10
Ingredients: 8/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: N/A
Would I buy this again? YES
Overall Rating: 9.5/10 

Bite Beauty High Pigment Lip Pencils in Cranberry and Quince - Review and Swatches

I have a short review today. This review won't be anything fancy, but the product is very fancy indeed. As some of you may know, Bite Beauty makes my favourite lip products. You just can't beat them for pigmentation, longevity, moisturization and safe ingredients. Unless you get a nude shade, they are crazy vibrant! They apply easy; just glide on. If you don't eat or drink anything, they will last for hours. As for comfort, nothing else on the market compares. To boot, they are safe enough to eat!

It has become my mission to acquire as many shades as possible. Bite Beauty sells a lot of sets of these lipsticks, especially through Sephora. I must own over 15 shades now and I have yet to get a shade I disliked. I prefer lipstick in a tube format over the pencil stick as this product is. However, they get the job done so who am I to be picky?

I think, but wouldn't swear, that I got these two shades in the same set. Both of the ones I have above are smaller sized, 0.05 oz. each. The full sized version is 0.09 oz. and retails for $28 Canadian or $24 U.S. I think I paid just over $20 for 4 of these smaller versions. Not a bad deal indeed.

Okay, swatches. Cranberry is on the left and Quince is on the right.

Cranberry seems to be a limited edition colour, but Bite comes out with so many sets all of the time, I am sure the colour will reappear soon. I think they like to bring it out for Christmas. It's a deep blue red with some rose in it. I have no issue rocking this shade year round.

Quince is a permanent shade and appears to come in a variety of packaging formats - tube, pencil etc. This is a very pink red and is described as rose berry. I find it a bit loud and I have to be careful what I wear it with or I think it can look a bit clownish. I prefer Cranberry, but I think on the right person Quince would be most flattering. Perhaps on a darker skinned person, it could be a serious knockout!

Packaging: 10/10

Pigmentation: 15/10 (is that possible?)
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 7/10 (worth every penny though)
Ingredients: 10/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? YES, YES, YES!!!!!!!!!
Overall Rating: 10/10 

Inglot Freedom System Eye Shadow 441 Pearl - Review and Swatch

I have been fascinated with makeup since about the age of 12. I wore makeup as soon as I could (when my mom would let me which would be mid teens) and have continued with it ever since. My true hard core obsession started about 6 years ago. That's when I started collecting makeup and started to watch youtube makeup tutorials like it was going out of style. It was around that time, circa 2009, that Inglot was a much talked about brand for eyeshadow. It was in my mind for years that I needed to try one of their eyeshadows. Problem? Inglot isn't sold in Canada and you can't even order their regular eyeshadow line to be shipped here. They have hardly any stores even in the States. So a little while ago when I took a trip to Las Vegas, I picked up an eyeshadow and a nail polish.

I only recently busted out this eyeshadow which is a pearl shadow in 441. There is no name for it. I hate that. Inglot and Make Up For Ever must be in cahoots together on this one. There is no description available for this colour. I would describe it as an opal violet. Each pan is 2.7g or 0.09 oz. which is huge compared to most other refill pan options in other brands. They are currently selling for $7.00 U.S. which is very reasonable. I feel like this product's time has passed. This would be an excellent eyeshadow if we were still in 2000's not 2010's. In fact, I never hear of anyone using this brand anymore.What I will say for it is that it is very well pigmented and it's quite long lasting.

I don't find that this eyeshadow swatches well. It works much better on your actual eyelid. Here are a couple of swatches:

  

It is a pretty colour and it is somewhat unusual. The formula feels a bit dry and a tad chalky to me. I am so use to using creamy eyeshadows now that I find it hard to go back to these old school formulations. All of this being said, for $7, it's a good buy considering you get a huge quantity of product, the pigmentation is decent and you get great  longevity. I would sooner reach for my Makeup Geek eyeshadows for $5.99 though.

Packaging: 8/10  (can't get too excited about a refill pan)

Pigmentation: 10/10
Easy to Work With: 8/10
Longevity: 10/10
Colour Stays True: 10/10
Texture: 6/10
Price: 10/10
Ingredients: 8/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10 (if you have a magnetic case for it)
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? Maybe but not likely
Overall Rating:  8/10

Makeup Geek MUG Face Buffer Brush - Review

At long last I am finally doing my blog as promised on the Makeup Geek (MUG) Face Buffer Brush. This brush is $17.99 U.S. In the past I have used mostly Sigma Beauty Kabuki brushes for my foundation. While I like the assortment of Sigma Kabuki brushes that I have for foundation, I just had this feeling that I could do better. Also, one of my Sigma brushes fell apart a few months ago after 4 years of on and off wear and tear.

I also bought a pricey Sephora #56 Pro Brush a few months back and was not impressed. I should have returned it. Anyway, I decided to pick up the MUG Face Buffer Brush and I was not disappointed. The bristles are densely packed and it glides around my face so easily. It has now become my favourite foundation brush. I do have to wash it quite regularly though as it is only good for 3 to 4 uses tops. I have to sub in the Sigma ones while this one is dirty and/or drying.

I just find that this brush is easier and faster to work with than the Sigma ones. It's softer too. Don't get me wrong, as far as I am concerned, the best thing that Sigma does is their foundation brushes and I still use mine quite a bit when this one is out of commission. I also think that my foundation looks less streaky even after a couple of initial swipes when I am applying foundation when I use this brush versus the Sigma ones. I just have to work less with it to get a good result.

Holy cow! I just noticed that Sigma is now selling their Kabuki brushes starting at $24 U.S. Things have certainly gone up since I last purchased one.

Well given that little surprise I have to say that the MUG Face Buffer Brush is cheaper and as mentioned, works better in my opinion. The rounded head works perfectly for me. I purchased this brush myself from Makeup Geek and I am not sponsored by them in any way. Just a little disclaimer there.

Packaging: 10/10 (lightweight brush)     

Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: time will tell
Usefulness: 10/10 
Texture/Softness: 10/10
Price: 10/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Overall Rating: 10/10
Would I buy this again? YESSSSS

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics OCC Lip Tar Matte in Lydia - Review and Swatch

First of all, I wanted to say how happy I am that I hit 200,000 views to my blog this past week. I know for some of you that isn't anything to get excited about, but for me it is. I don't have a youtube channel and I don't go crazy promoting my blog, so for me, this was a good accomplishment. Thank you to all of you who read my blog for letting me reach this milestone!

I have been pretty M.I.A. for the past several days I know. I just got busy with work, social engagements, appointments and gardening etc. I am not so busy this week so I will try to get a few posts up!

Okay, on to the matter at hand. I bought this OCC lip product because I loved the colour. It is described as a darkroom plum. The shade is called Lydia. The picture above shows it in the tube with the flash on and in the pic below with the flash off.

I will start off by saying that I do not like the packaging at all. I don't like any lip product to come out of a squeeze tube unless it's lip balm. It's a pain and sloppy to apply. The formula is very thin and runny.

The colour is gorgeous. No doubt about it. When you first apply it, it is so shiny and fun looking. Within 2 hours it's almost totally absorbed into my lips. It has faded and only a little colour is left. Yes, this is even with lip liner! So longevity is poor.

Each tube is 0.33 oz. I got mine in an OCC set of cosmetics. They are normally $18 U.S. or $22 Canadian on their own. I believe I got my set for about $27 Canadian and it came with a beauty powder (I haven't tried it yet), a lip liner and a lip brush. I really like the lip liner by the way and I will do a review on it soon. This set that I bought is actually now on for $23 U.S. but $57 Canadian which makes no sense. This is at Sephora.

The product feels great on and it's moisturizing but you have to keep reapplying it frequently. That's a pain in the butt if you ask me. I don't see myself buying anymore of these lip tars as a result. I have two pictures below. The first is of the product running down my arm after I applied a tiny dollop of it. The product separates as you can see.

The next picture below is of it swatched out on my arm. Not pretty.

 

Packaging: 2/10

Pigmentation: 4/10
Easy to Work With: 2/10
Longevity: 1/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 7/10 (for what you get in return)
Ingredients: 8/10
Travel Worthy: 8/10 (oozes a bit)
Comfortable to Wear: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 8/10 (before it fades)  3/10 (when it fades)
Would I buy this again? NO
Overall Rating: 5.5/10 


Bits and Bites

• Makeup Geek Brush review coming this week (sorry for the delay but it needs cleaning!)

Fresh Sugar Shine Lip Treatment in Clear - Review and Swatch

I got a generous sample of this awhile back as part of some Sephora promotion. In fact, I got 3 generous Fresh samples together in a set at the time. The regular size of one of these tubes is 0.2 oz. My sample is exactly half of the regular size coming in at 0.1 oz. Not too shabby. A full size tube is $22 Canadian or $18.50 U.S.

I have the one in Clear and it is exactly as it sounds...clear. It does have a bit of shimmer to it. I am almost done my tube and I have been struggling to do a review on it for weeks because it's one of those products that is not easily loved or hated. I will say that it is far more moisturizing than I expected. It smells like lemonade to me, like a lot of Fresh products do. It looks fine worn alone or you can layer it over a lipstick for some extra shine and moisture.

It is a good product but its very underwhelming as far as lip products go. It's hard to get excited about it. It is a little sticky but not overly so. I don't find it to be overly long lasting. I find myself doing frequent touch ups when I wear it. Not an exciting review, but there it is. Here is the swatch, such as it is:

Packaging: 8/10

Pigmentation: N/A
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 5/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 7/10 (a little steep but a good product nonetheless)
Ingredients: 8/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Comfortable to Wear: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 7/10 (not much to see)
Would I buy this again? Maybe
Overall Rating: 8.5/10 

Bits and Bites

• I didn't bother to do an April favourites this month. All I had was 3 eyeshadows (all Makeup Geek) and one hair product. I will perhaps merge them into my May favourites.
• Makeup Geek brush review coming next!

Makeup Geek (MUG) Foiled Eyeshadows in Grandstand and Mesmerized - Review and Swatches

I recently bought two Makeup Geek foiled eyeshadows in the shades Grandstand and Mesmerized. These are super shiny and extremely pigmented. They are $9.99 U.S. each in the pan as shown above. In terms of size they are 1.8 g or 0.064 oz.

Grandstand is described as a medium rose gold with slight taupe undertones and a foiled finish. When Marlena from Makeup Geek wears this shadow in videos it looks almost champagne coloured. In person, I find it to be super copper coloured. I confess I am not a copper eyeshadow lover so I was a bit disappointed. That being said, if you like copper toned eyeshadows, this one is a real winner. The colour stays true, it's easy to blend, it's super pigmented and on the right person, the colour would be an absolute knock out.

Mesmerized on the other hand, is right up my alley. Pair it with silver eyeshadow and you have a serious winner. It is described by Makeup Geek as deep medium taupe with strong purple undertones and a foiled finish. I wish it was a tad more purple, but at the same time, it is lovely as it is. Swatches are below with Grandstand on the left and Mesmerized on the right. Just look at that shine.

I have full intentions of purchasing more Makeup Geek foiled eyeshadows after seeing how these perform. I know there was some talk about these crumbling during shipping but I had no issues and they had to travel to Canada. The butter fingers at Canada Post managed to get them to me unscathed. I believe Marlena was going to work on them to cut down on the problem and perhaps she has it resolved since mine would have been from a later or more recent batch. There is some very minor fallout with these, but frankly it's hardly worth talking about. They are just super creamy and feel great gliding onto your lid.

Packaging: 10/10  (the are palette refills so nothing to get excited about but they serve their purpose)

Pigmentation: 10/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Colour Stays True: 10/10
Texture: 9/10
Price: 10/10
Ingredients: 10/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? HELL YES
Overall Rating:  10/10

April 2015 Empties!

My empties bin was not very full this past month. I am in a slight spring cleaning mood so I am trying to get rid of some items hanging around my stash that I was not particularly gaga for.

The Nuxe Paris Contour des Yeux Prodigieux, or Anti-Aging Eye Cream if you will, was subpar. I had this mini sample for I dare not say how long. The smell was very medicinal and the formula was thin. I used it at night for a couple of weeks until it ran out. My eyes felt comfortable, but not fabulous, with it on but really I had no love for it. Will not purchase in future.

One of, if not my favourite, face moisturizers is Dr. Hauschka's Rose Day Cream. Another one bit the dust. Here's the full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2012/01/dr-hauschka-rose-day-cream-and-rose-day.html. Will definitely repurchase.

My bottle of Bioderma Sensibio H2O Make-Up Removing Micelle Solution is finally gone. I think it took me just over 4 months to finish. I don't get the hype of this product at all. It's terrible at taking off eye make-up, especially mascara. Now some people have said I am a silly goose for not using a make-up remover oil on my eyes first. What I don't understand is that there are products on the market that remove all of your make-up, including mascara, and no cleansing oil is needed. So I don't think I am the silly goose at all. I have repurchased my beloved Klorane make-up remover that removes everything gently as a makeup remover should! Here is the full review for this Bioderma product: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2014/12/bioderma-sensibio-h20-make-up-removing.html

You guys know I love me some Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup in my shade 2.0. I have gone through countless tubes of this. Already repurchased. I still have not done a full review of this product on my blog. I talk about it so much that I figure you might be sick of hearing me talk about it. Already repurchased.

Speaking of Estee Lauder, I finished another small sized Double Wear Stay-in-Place Flawless Wear Concealer in 02 Light Medium. This stuff is fantastic and blends in with a variety of foundations and BB products etc. I love it for anywhere on my face except under the eyes. I have never bought one of these because I always manage to snag a free sample of one when I am at the Estee Lauder counter buying my foundation. I think I only have one left in my stash though so I may have to break down and actually buy one. Holy cow! I just noticed that I have never done a review on this product. Shame on me.

As if two Estee Lauder products weren't enough for my empties, it appears I have a third. Estee Lauder DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Crème SPF 15. I love to use this in the summer months. I had this particular jar lying around in my bathroom almost finished from last summer so I decided to finish it off. I already have a few gwp replacements in my stash. Full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2013/09/estee-lauder-daywear-advanced-multi.html.

Caudalie Premier Cru La Crème or The Cream is not a bad night cream in my book. This sample was so small I only ever got maybe a week's use out of it. It felt very nice and nourishing on the skin and the smell seemed suitable for bedtime. It was nice, but is pricey. I wasn't over the moon with it so I may not repurchase, but I will gladly take another free sample of it from Sephora.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream. I just decided I am not going to throw out the empty jar or put it in my blue box for recycling as the jar is nice and tiny. Perfect for travel purposes. Okay, got sidetracked there. So I did a review on this recently and basically it fells great on, lovely stuff, but if you have major dark circles under your eyes like me, this does nothing for them. Review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2015/03/bobbi-brown-hydrating-eye-cream-review.html

So that is it for April empties! I have a few Makeup Geek (MUG) items to do blog reviews on this upcoming week so stay tuned!