Tag: 7 Deadly Sins

I'm finally backtracking and doing some tags! Cindy from cindyhyue tagged me to do the 7 Deadly Sins Tag and I'm so excited! I think I was also putting it off because I was waiting for the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow Palette to come in and.... because of laziness. I'm sorry! 

Now that I've adjusted to the new phase in my life, I'm started to get back on my regular Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday schedule! I seriously hope I can stick to it since I really do like blogging.

Now that I've rambled enough, let's move onto the tag!

GREED // What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive?

My most inexpensive beauty item is probably the petite sizes of the Darling Girl Cosmetics Loose Pigments / Eyeshadows (review here). They're $2.50 each and they contain more than enough product too for the price!

My most expensive beauty item is the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow Palette (review here). I kept seeing every blogger talking about this palette and so I finally purchased it when a great gift with purchase was offered at Nordstrom. It retails for $68 and I'm still slightly crying about the price tag. 

WRATH // What beauty item do you have a love/hate relationship with? What product was the hardest to get?

I have a love/hate relationship with the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow Palette. If you've read my review, the bronzer is just barely dark enough for me and I don't even think I'm that dark. For something that has "Sculpt" embossed into the product, the bronzing powder is too shimmery and slightly too warm to contour. It's great on the cheekbones and looks beautiful on the skin, but I was disappointed about the color and shimmer. The highlighter side is sooo pretty as well and so I end up mixing both colors to get an even more beautiful "bronzey glowy goddess" look.

I think the product that was hardest to get was the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lolita (review here). I remember signing up for the email alerts for when it was available so that I wouldn't miss it too. It's not the "true" Lolita shade that was super popular, but I still really like it and wear it all the time!

GLUTTONY // What are your most delicious beauty products?

When I started to think about this question, Too Faced's Chocolate Soleil Bronzer and Bite Beauty's Lip Gloss in Mimosa immediately popped into my mind. Bite products generally smell nice - a little fruity but not super sweet. The smell from my Chocolate Soleil isn't as strong anymore, but it's still nice to get whiffs of chocolate when I use it. 

SLOTH // What beauty products do you neglect due to laziness?

Even though I now have a million blushes, I tend to not use them a lot. I also used to be super obsessed with contouring, but I can't bother to do that in the early mornings anymore. I usually focus a lot of my time in the morning on my skin now and I usually either end up just pushing cheek products to the end or not using them at all. 

PRIDE // What beauty products give you the most self confidence?

I really like my eyes and so eye products make me feel really confident. Now that I wear glasses, my eyes don't stand out as much but they're still my favorite feature to enhance. Besides that, foundation really helps boost my confidence since I still have a lot of acne marks.

LUST // What products are you currently lusting after?

What am I not lusting after is the real question. Holiday Sets are coming out from eveeeery company and they all look gorgeous. I really want Urban Decay's Spectrum Palette, but I'm never going to use all of those colors. 

I also want to get a Besame Lipstick in Red Velvet. Peggy Carter from Marvel's Agent Carter wears this color and since I'll never be as cool as her, maybe wearing the same lipstick color will make me feel a bit cooler. 

ENVY // What items would you most like to receive as a gift?

I've been wanting the Nikon J5 camera for the longest time and even though that's not beauty related, I do need a new camera for my blog. It's pretty expensive and so even though I wouldn't want someone to fully pay for me, $20 would be nice to help fund me to get it. 

Whelps! I'm done with this tag! It was pretty fun to go back into my collection and even rediscover things to use again. 

It's kind of hard to think of people to tag since I'm always late to the game, but I tag Kim from KimKine and Jenny from itsmeeejenny.

HAUL | Can't Stop, Should Stop

I swear I didn't buy all of these at once! It was within 2-3 months and so it's not that much better though considering I was trying to spend less....

Anyway! I felt like my blog was focusing more and and more on high end stuff and I felt like I was giving off a snobbish vibe? I felt so bad when I realized that. I do use a lot of drugstore and mid-range stuff, but I tend to focus on mid range and high end / luxury products because I feel like that's what people are more interested in reading. 

There are great products at the drugstore though and so I went and bought more recently to expand my collection and find possible dupes for the more expensive things I have.

The eye stuff -

• Hard Candy Eye Def Metallic Eyeshadow in Golden Earth
• Flower Beauty Daily Brigthening Undereye Cover Cream in DB3
• Flower Beauty Color Play Creme Eyeshadow in CE9 Flirty Floret
• Clinique All About Shadow Super Shimmer in Black Honey
• Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Drama Waterproof Mascara in Very Black 
• L'oreal Voluminous Superstar Waterproof Mascara in Blackest Black

L to R:

Flirty Floret / Black Honey / Golden Earth / DB3

Top - Step #2 of the L'oreal Mascara

Bottom - Maybelline Mascara

Step #1 for of the L'oreal Mascara

The lip stuff -

• L'oreal Colour Riche Collection Exclusive Lipstick in Zoe's Red
• Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick (looks warmer and brighter compared to real life) in Unicorn Blood
• Bite Beauty (Sephora 250 Point Perk) Luminous Creme Lipstick and Lipgloss in Mimosa
• Tony Moly Bbo Bbo Lip Balm in Honey

L to R - 

Unicorn Blood (darker in real life) / Zoe's Red / Mimosa Lipstick & Lipgloss

The face / cheek stuff -

• Wet n Wild Coloricon Bronzer SPF15 in Reserve Your Cabana
• Hard Candy Contouring Face Trio in 3 x A Lady

L to R:

Bronzer, Blush, and Highlight from 3 x A Lady / Reserve Your Cabana

I think I have enough photos and wore Jeffree Star's Velour Liquid Lipstick Unicorn Blood long enough to write a review on it soon. I'm kind of drawn towards using Clinique's Eyeshadow in Black Honey and Flower Beauty's Color Play Creme Eyeshadow in Flirty Floret as well, but haven't taken enough pictures yet.

What item would you like me to review first?

Review & Swatches: YSL Volupte Tint-In-Oil in I Rose You and Cherry My Cherie

As a "TREAT YO' SELF" after finishing my Dior Addict Lip Glow, I got the Yves Saint Laurent Volupté Tint-In-Oil in #4 I Rose You. Wit my order, I also got a deluxe sample size of #5 Cherry My Cherie and so I'll be reviewing both in this post! I Rose You is a light pink and Cherry My Cherie is a darker pink that leans more fuchsia. Both of them have shimmer, but it's barely detectable on the lips.\The Tint-In-Oils are lip tints suspended in a deep conditioning oil. The full sized product contains 0.2 ounces of product and retails for $32.

Review: Maple Holistics Winter Blend Shampoo & Conditioner + GIVEAWAY [CLOSED]

Maple Holistics is a USA based hair and skin care company that aim to be natural and holistic. Their products are sulfate, additive, and synthetic fragrance free and instead use authentic essential oils. They are also animal cruelty free! They recently asked me if I wanted to try out their products and I happily agreed! I chose the Winter Blend Shampoo and Conditioner. Both the shampoo and conditioner come in two sizes - 8 ounces retails for $13.95 and 16 ounces retails for $25.11. You can buy them off their website or on Amazon (they quality for Amazon prime as well!).

Both the shampoo and conditioner contain five different mint varieties and they smell wonderful. It is minty but also slightly sweet. There's not a tingly minty feely from the shampoo, but you can slightly feel it with the conditioner since it's on your head longer.

Ever since I received some advice that my acne around my hairline might have been shampoo related, I switched to sulfate free and the acne around that area decreased dramatically. One of the things I didn't like was that a lot of sulfate free shampoos didn't lather as much as I liked them to and so my hair never felt fully clean.

The Winter Blend Shampoo surprisingly lathered up so well with about half the amount of shampoo I would use. I was immediately impressed at how well it was cleaning my hair and since the 90+ Fahrenheit degree weather started, I really wanted my oily scalp to be clean. My boyfriend also tried the shampoo so that I could have a second opinion and he loved the shampoo. Like me, he was impressed at how well it lathered and how clean his hair/head felt.

The upper half of my hair is a lot healthier than the lower half and so there was a mixed outcome of how my hair felt. The shampoo was great for the top half and so-so for the bottom half. If you have dry or damaged hair, I would skip this shampoo since it might feel too stripping. If you have normal to oily hair, this would work great. Once the dyed/damaged parts of my hair is all cut off, I intend to buy a bigger size of this shampoo. 

Unfortunately, the shampoo did strip the dye out of my hair a little bit with each wash. About half of my hair is still dyed brown, and so now my hair looks like it's been ombred. Still looks nice, but it's probably going to look not as "intentionally" the more the color is stripped. 

I have pretty damaged hair right now and so I was pretty excited to see how this conditioner would do with my hair. I normally use Aussie's 3 Minute Miracle as a conditioner whenever I wash my hair and that's pretty much my miracle worker. The Winter Blend Conditioner unfortunately did not compare to that, but it did do pretty well in comparison to some other conditioners I've tried from OGX (Organics) and Aveeno. The OGX conditioners felt like they either did nothing or made my hair feel more dry. 

Once again, I would have loved this conditioner if my hair wasn't as damaged as it is now. The conditioner doesn't strip out color and so I won't wait till all of my damaged hair grows out to use it again! I'll be getting 1-2 inches cut off in a few weeks and I'll be using it again then and then the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle once a week for that extra moisture boost. 

1: Dirty hair
2. Lather it up with the Winter Blend Shampoo!
3. Soften it with the Winter Blend Conditioner!
4. Nice and clean, but wet, hair

Final thoughts: I've noticed that since I've started using both the shampoo and conditioner, my fuzzy / frizzy look my hair had started to fade a bit. The roots / top half looked shinier and felt lighter. The shampoo is a bit stripping for the very damaged bottom half of my hair, but works great for the top half. If anything, this would make a great clarifying shampoo since other sulfate free shampoos I've tried don't make my hair feel clean enough. The conditioner better than other natural conditioners I've tried, but it's not the best in general. If you're trying to go all natural, I would recommend it but if not, there are other better conditioners that you can try. 

And now for the exciting parts! THE GIVEAWAY!

I mostly teamed up with Maple Holistics once I heard that my readers could have the opportunity to receive some products for free as well. Once I tried out this pair, I knew I had to do the giveaway as well since they're some of the better natural hair care products I've tried. I am not being paid for this review, post, or giveaway. They are sponsoring it by providing the products for free to me and my readers though. My opinions on their products are 100% honest.

Unlike other giveaways I've done, Maple Holistics will be the one to ship the products to you. You will have the chance to tell them what (1) Shampoo and (1) Conditioner of your choice that you want to try!

The rules are simple -

1. 18 or older. If you're younger than 18, ask your parents before entering.
2. USA only - I know I have a lot of non-USA readers and I'm sorry about this, but this is one of Maple Holistics' rules. 
3. Follow me on Bloglovin' and leave a comment.
4. Visit/follow Maple Holistics on their social media platforms.
5. The giveaway will end on September 28, 2015 at 12:00 AM.
6. Once the winner has been randomly selected, I will e-mail them and CC Maple Holistics so that they can work out the rest. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*The #SummerOfGiveaways and blogger connection are sponsored by Edumuch.com
*There are other ways to get free products from Maple Holistics along with this giveaway! The gist of it is - review something honestly on their Amazon pages and receive a free product. Please visit this page on their website for more information. The offer expires on 9/30/2015.

Review & Swatches: L'oreal Infallible Pro-Matte 16HR Powder in #300 Nude Beige

Along with the L'oreal Infallible Foundation I reviewed here, I also purchased the L'oreal Infallible Pro-Matte 16 Hour Powder in Nude Beige to try out! L'oreal claims that this powder will have a new standard of matte in that it will still keep the skin multi-dimensional by shine-free. They also claim that the powder will never make your skin look flat or cakey. This powder retails for about $10-$13 dollars depending on where you get it and it contains 0.31 ounces / 9 grams of product. 

Review & Swatches: Becca Beach Tint Shimmer Souffle in Watermelon/Moonstone

The Becca Beach Tint Shimmer Souffles are supposed to be a cross between the Becca Shimmering Skin Protectors and the Becca Beach Tints. The color I got was Watermelon / Moonstone and it's described as a "coral red infused with pale gold" and I would say that's pretty accurate.  The claims include staining the skin with color and illuminating the skin with a flawless finish. The Shimmer Souffles contain 5.7 grams / 0.20 ounces of product and retail for $27. 

My BeautyCon LA 2015 Experience

This year, BeautyCon LA was on July 11, 2015 and at The Reef and long story short - it was not great.

I was going to write up this post right away, but I wanted everything to come till a close first.

My friend, Cecilia pictured above, and I missed out on IMATS since we were still paying for school stuff and so we decided to go to BeautyCon LA instead. We were both so excited about going since we both love YouTubers and makeup.

Personally, I was ready to drop tons of money for makeup since I've seen previous posts about great deals at other BeautyCon's. Buying makeup was mostly my priority since I knew the lines would be long and then we planned to try to do meet ups later.

I have gone to conventions before and I fully understand long lines. This convention was a whole different story. 

Unfortunately, we didn't even get into the building to see the booths. There were lines to get into the venue which included the building with booths and then the outside area with food trucks and meet ups. 

We got through the line into the venue fine and then the line into the building was terrible. There were no signs at all showing where the line into the building was and so it was kind of crowd created. The end of the line was kind of mixed into another line for a meetup, but it wasn't that long and so Cecilia and I were pretty excited about getting in within an hour or so. 

Within that hour, a second line formed without us noticing about 15 people ahead of us. It even extended across the parking lot / outside area and I believe outside the venue. I was pretty frustrated and some other women even told security and BeautyCon LA planners about the situation. From what I heard, some of the security and venue people (not BeautyCon planners) were laughing at our situation. 

By the second hour, we had only moved like 1-2 feet and ANOTHER line formed. By the third hour and another 1-2 feet, a mob had formed near the entrance because they were tired of waiting in line. There was some kind of "one in one out" policy and I kept seeing people raise their hand to show many people were in their group. 

I was getting tired of this and so I just asked a group that had just the building if going inside was actually worth it and they said not at all. It was clear that we weren't going to be able to get into the building and there wasn't enough time to do the meetups we wanted anymore. Cecilia and I decided to leave and just hung out with my friend in LA instead since I never go there. 

When I got back, I emailed BeautyCon support/customer service and told them about my experience. I am normally not the kind of person to do this kind of thing, but I was really so frustrated that I wasted so much time for pretty much nothing. It was also kind of annoying that apparently 500ish tickets were given away for free the day of. I did buy a general pass and so I just wanted some kind of recognition/apology and maybe a refund. 

They did go beyond in responding to me. I'm pretty sure some of it was a script for most of it, but they did try to make it up. They called a lot of people that sent in e-mails to apologize and even sent out packages like the one I'm picturing in this post. Most of it seems like leftovers from the event, but I'm not complaining! The value of this package is way greater than the value of the ticket I got. 

There are some random things, but there are also great stuff I've been wanting to try like the Tarte lip pencil and Hello Hair Hydrating Mask. 

I don't know if I'll be reviewing most of the items, but please let me know if anything catches your eye! There aren't color names/labels on some of the items and so I decided to skip listing the products for now. 

Along with this package, they also told me that I'll be receiving a ticket to any BeautyCon festival in 2016. Honestly, I don't think I'll be going to another one of their events. Even though I live an hour away from LA, I would never go there myself since just thinking of driving there gives me anxiety. My makeup loving friends have moved away from Southern California and so there's no one I would go with either. 

I appreciate the effort BeautyCon tried to make it up to me and other event go-ers, but the event itself already disappointed me too much. I feel like this event would only be worth it for high profile YouTubers since they have access to the free products and events or those who are really into meet ups / seeing YouTubers in person. If you wanted to go to see the makeup, I recommend just going to The Grove or other makeup boutiques located in Los Angeles. 

August 2015 Favorites!

It's been awhile since I've put up a favorites post, but it has some good stuff in it! I haven't put up reviews for most of these products yet since I'm playing catchup but they should be up soon!

Yves Saint Laurent Volupte Tint-In-Oil in #4 I Rose You | I got this to replace my Dior Addict Lip Glow in Pink since I wanted to try something new, but still wanted that slight pinky color to wear at my office. This product tints my mauve toned lips to be more rosey pink and also adds a bit of a glossy look. I don't like glosses, but this was a nice product since it was very moisturizing and could be patted down to be less glossy. This product didn't actually replace my next favorite though since it wasn't as moisturizing. 

Dior Dior Addict Lip Glow in Pink | This was too much of a favorite that I finished it before I could even do a review. The arm swatch makes the color look barely there, but it brings out the most beautiful pinky color once on my lips. At first I wasn't going to repurchase this product since it didn't do enough, but I might have to change my mind during the next Sephora sale. It is hands down one of the most moisturizing products I've tried. Fresh lip balms are also pretty good, but those add too much slip to my lips. 

L'oreal Studio Secrets Magic Lumi Concealer in Medium (review here) | Now that I'm waking up around 6:30 Am every morning, the undereye darkness is becoming more apparent. It doesn't completely cover the darkness, but it does brighten it up dramatically. I need to set it with powder and it does still crease a little bit, but it still looks better with the product on than without. 

Charlotte Tilbury Color Chameleon Color Morphing Eyeshadow Pencil in Amber Haze (review here) | I wasn't expecting to fall in love with this pencil as much as I did, but it's pretty amazing. I've been using it almost every day since I've gotten it as a base and even all over color. It's a warm medium bronze color that is very pigmented. Most cream shadows I've tried give a wash of color, but this one is full on the same color as in the stick. 

Life's Entropy Matte Theory in Variable | This is one of the more interesting formulas I've tried in regards to liquid lipsticks. It's kind of like powder suspended in liquid and you need to be sure to mix it before you use it. It is also very very thin and almost water like, but it is comfortable to wear. The color is so pretty to wear and it's like a more rosey pink version of Kat Von D's Lolita. 

MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque | I remember watching a YouTuber use this in almost all of her videos about 5 years ago. I've been wanting it every since but I didn't know if it would look good on me. Since I've been loving rose golds, I thought it was finally time to add Rubenesque into my collection. It adds a peachy pink and golden base to help with the warmer rose golds I use. The texture is very thin though and it's not as pigmented as the other Paint Pot I have - Indianwood. It's quite slippery to the touch and applies sheerly on the lids. The price seems a bit high for something as sheer as this, but it is a beautiful color that I can just slap on for something subtle and brightening on the lids.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Pink Sunset | Surprise! Another bronzey rose gold shade! I've been using this as a highlighter and sometimes on the lids. It's something I can use in a rush with a fluffy fan like brush to dust on my cheeks, but anything more dense can make my face look metallic. I mostly focus my brush on the bottom 3 or 4 shades since I want to show up more bronzey. Even though the lightest shade is just a thin off white pinky strip, it does lighten up the overall shade. 

What did you love in August? Have you tried any of the products on my list before?

Review & Swatches: Charlotte Tilbury Color Chameleon Color Morphing Eyeshadow Pencil in Amber Haze

Charlotte Tilbury Color Chameleon Color Morphing Eyeshadow Pencil in Amber Haze is a warm bronze shade with amber, bronze, and golden shimmers. Charlotte Tilbury created the shades in the Color Chameleon range to match eye colors and Amber Haze is for brown eyes. I take suggestions like these with a grain of salt, but I would say bronze shades like this would work on every eye color. The Color Chameleon Eyeshadow pencils retail for $27 and contain 0.06 ounces of product.

Review & Swatches: Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Swish and Pop Blush in Sex on Fire

When I went to LA recently, I was able to go to The Grove to see some lovely Charlotte Tilbury products in person. I went in to ask about the darker version of the Filmstar Bronze & Glow and ended up leaving with two other products. The one I will be reviewing today is the Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Swish and Pop Blusher in Sex on Fire. The center of the blush is a  slightly pinky but mostly plummy mauve while the outer ring is a light neutral pink. 

The claims include having Light Flex Technology to give off a luminous glow. There is also supposed to include "finely crushed pearls that smooth and buff the skin for excellent blendability and perfect colour uniformity." The blush retails for $40 and contain 0.28 ounces. 

Empties, Repurchases, and Upgrades #1

Considering my spending habits, I'm surprised I finished anything besides mascara! I actually did have 2 tubes of mascara, but I've already mentioned the Maybelline The Rocket Waterproof Mascara and the L'oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions Waterproof mascara a million times. 

I'm also backtracking to some upgrades of sample products to buying the real deal (or travel size)!

Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch - 

Sample

Repurchase: Maybe

I got this in some Sephora samples bag at least a year ago. I've used it on and off since then not because I don't like it, but because I don't normally wear primers. I loved how this product smoothed out my skin and made it feel, but I was so frugal with it since the full size is $37. It didn't seem to prolong the wear of my foundation (one of the reasons why I don't wear primer) though. I also have a Tarte primer that looks and feels the same as this one, but is slightly thinner. The Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch is slightly thick and takes minimally more work to press/smooth into the skin, but I'm in a sleepy rush in the morning and so I would rather just skip this. If I were older and had more fine lines, I would definitely rethink purchasing the full size of this product. 

Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder

Pressed Version - Deluxe Sample

Loose Version - Travel Size

Repurchase: Yes

I got a few of the deluxed size version of the loose powder throughout the years and it took me forever to finish them. Once I did, I knew I had to at least buy the travel size since it would last me a very long time. This powder creates such a smooth and poreless finish on my skin. It helps set and mattify (but not flatten) my face as well. The pressed version surprisingly is still as messy as the loose version because it becomes very powdery after you "break" the top layer. 

Cover FX Custom Cover Drops in G40

Repurchase: Yes - but not now

Review: Here

I absolutely loved how I was able to control the coverage I wanted with this product. Unfortunately, it only contains 0.50 fluid ounces for about the price of a 1 fluid once foundation at Sephora. I know you only need a little bit (1-4 drops), but a lot of product gets wasted due to the lip of the container. It also gets stuck on the sides of the bottle and makes it harder to even scoop out. I really want to repurchase this in case I need to boost up the coverage of my foundations, but I can't justify it right now since I just bought 3 more foundations to try out. 

Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Facial Oil

Deluxe Sample

Repurchase: Yes (travel version)

I also got this deluxed sample size through a Sephora order. I wasn't really thinking about it since it seemed like the best value compared to the other $25 gift with purchase codes. I'm glad I took a chance on this! The sample size lasted about 3 months and then I bought the travel size. I actually just transfer some from the bigger bottle into the smaller one just in case I want to through it into my travel makeup bag. I learned from a Fresh SA that I'm supposed to just mix 2-3 drops into my moisturizer about 3-4 times a week, but I use around 4 drops almost every night. Even with my oily skin recently due to the hot weather, it doesn't make me feel oilier. I wake up every morning with beautiful looking skin and I couldn't be happier with this repurchase. 

Urban Decay Subversion Lash Primer

Repurchase: Yes (#2)

Review: Here

I probably used my original one longer than I should've, but it's a bit hard justifying the $20 at first. Then I realized that at least 7 months had passed and I loved every second of wearing it. I ended up using some Ulta points and got it almost for free! It plumps up my lashes so much and adds a bit of drama without false lashes. I could've gotten more uses out of this, but considering I regularly replace my mascaras around the 3 month mark, I really shouldn't be pushing my sensitive eyes. 

L'oreal Studio Secrets Magic Lumi Concealer in Medium

Repurchase: Yes (#2)

Review: Here

When I first reviewed this product, I wasn't sure I was going to repurchase it since it only lasts about 3 months for me if I used it almost every day. After trying out Maybelline's version, I had to go back to this one. Maybelline's highlighting concealer felt very dry on my skin and made my undereye area look more dull. Physician's Formula also has a highlighting concealer from their Nude range that I also have. I really like that one as well, but something about this L'oreal version feels and looks better. 

 What products have you repurchased? Which ones did you skip?