February 2014 Birchbox Unboxing!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! :)

     It's already almost the midst of February, how time flies doesn't it? Here's my monthly Birchbox unboxing post and a look at the things I got. This month Birchbox collaborated with Us Weekly

Paula's Choice - RESIST Ultra-light Antioxidant Concentrate Serum 

This product was super greasy for me and didn't absorb well. I really did not like this product.

Value: $5.10, 0.17 fl oz. [Regular: $30, 1 oz]

Sarahpotempa - The Half Up

This is a tool used to help create half-up dos or low buns  perfect for short or fine hair according to the packaging. I found it very hard to use and not good for short or fine hair. It was hard to do a low bun for me because I have quite a lot of hair. Overall, I was not impressed with this product.

Value: $9

W3ll People - Universalist Multi-Use Color Stick in #8 Dusty Rose

This product is meant for the eyes, cheeks and lips. Made from all natural ingredients and infused with organic aloe. I think it's great that it's comrpised of all natural ingredients, but I don't care much for this product that just adds color. I tried this on my lips and didn't like the taste of it.

Value: could not determine since weight was not included with sample package

[Regular: $33, 10 g]

Whish - Three Wishes Body Butter

Another product I'll be able to throw into my bag due to its size! Smells nice and fresh.

Value: $3.52, 22 ml  [Regular: $24, 150 ml]

This month's beauty extra was two tea samples from Harney & Sons Fine Teas. They are single silken wrapped satchets. I got one in White Vanilla Grapefruit and another in Paris (which consists of black tea with fruit and caramel.)

Value: $0.96 for 2 satchels  [Regular: $9.60 for 20 satchels]

      Overall, I was not impressed with this month's box and it was a miss for me. I didn't like the products and am only interested in the tea samples and the body butter. As usual, the box, in terms of value is over the $10 paid for. I know that not every box will be a hit for everyone, but hopefully, the next box with contain more products to my liking. 

      Thanks for checking out my post! I hope you all have a wonderful day and a wonderful Valentine's Day. If you like what you see here on my blog, follow or leave comments! :) 

Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Glosstini - Hunger Games Collection - Pyro Pink

Hello there!

      I have another polish post for you guys! It is Covergirl's Outlast Stay Brilliant Glosstini in Pyro Pink from the Hunger Games Collection. I have previous posts on two other polishes from the same collection that you can check out: Inferno and Violet Flicker.

 

      Like the other polishes I've tried in the collection, this polish has lots of fine silver and pink shimmers or microglitters, giving the polish a very nice shimmery effect. Also, the polish dries very quickly and applies very easily even with 3 coats of polish. I finished the polish off with Essie's Good To Go! topcoat, which is a fast dry top coat. I used 3 coats to get the opacity needed for my nails, but I think those with smaller nails can get away with 2 coats. I like that it's a darker pink color that's not in your face, making it a nice color for all year round. It has good staying power, like the other polishes, lasting well over a week without any chipping.
      It is a small-sized polish or mini polish that consists of only 3.5 ml of product. I managed to get the polishes for $2 or under each so it's not too bad if you can get them on a deal. How many of us actually ever use up all of a full-sized  nail polish anyway? I know this was advertised as limited edition collection but I still see them around in drugstores now so they'll probably still be around for awhile.
      Thanks for reading and have a nice day! :)

Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquers Review - Celestial and Aurora

Hello again!

      I've been on a lip product phase recently so lippies are mostly what I've been trying. Not to mention, there have been quite a few new lip products out. Today, I am going to talk about Rimmel's Show Off Lip Lacquers which I know aren't the newest products out but I just recently got them and wanted to share my thoughts on them. I got 101 Celestial and 401 Aurora which I purchased at Rite Aid at a pretty affordable price of $5.49 each there. Rimmel promotes these as having an "intense rich colour of a lipstick, enhanced by a satin smooth shine."

Top: Celestial (101)
Bottom: Aurora (401)

Celestial (101) is a pretty corally-pink that would look especially nice in the spring and summer.
Aurora (401) is a coral-red color that would look great anytime.
The finish of these lip products are that of a semi-matte/ satin-like finish.

Pros:

• Great pigmentation!
• Nice range of colors consisting of nudes, pinks, purples and reds that should work well for most people's complexions. 
• Non-sticky feel
• You can tell if someone has used this product before because, when you open it up, you can see the empty space where normally you see the actual product in most lip products. If that area is filled up with the product, then it has been used. When you first pull out the wand or applicator you can see the product slowly being drawn up and fill up that window area.

Cons:

• It didn't apply very easily for me and I couldn't get that much product each time. I needed to dip it into the container multiple times to completely fill in my lips.
• The brush was hard which I didn't really like. I like brushes to be softer and more gentle on the lips. Also, FYI, the brush dents in the middle of the applicator which can be seen in the second picture.
• If you have dry lips, then they will be accentuated by these lip products since it dries to a semi-matte / satin-like finish. Due to its finish, it can also be drying on the lips for some people over time.
• I found that the product got on my teeth which is never an attractive look.

      Overall, I do have to agree with Rimmel's description of the product. The finish is of a satin-like finish that I found to be more semi-matte. I've never leaned towards matte-like lips for myself but I wasn't disappointed with how these showed up on my lips. It has a slight scent that sort of smells like strawberries to me for some reason, kind of like how those glosses made for young kids smell like. It isn't anything bothersome or too pungent so it wasn't of any concern to me. I feel that these didn't work that well for me because I have very dry lips. I also didn't like the brush all that much. It was too hard for my liking but this might not be a problem for others. Again, these lip lacquers surprised me with their great pigmentation! Many people will like these lacquers and with the price tag that comes along with them. I've already seen many people rave about them.