Makeup Collection: Lip Tints/Stains, Oil Tints, and Tinted Oils

One thing I've been focusing on (besides matte liquid lipsticks) is lip tints. I'm not exactly lacking in that department, but this category is one of the easiest to just throw on my face without too much worry. The original traditional lip tints can get blotchy, but they've really come in a long way in terms of application. 

L to R - 

• PeriPera Peri's Tint in 5 (maybe?) my friend gave me this and the text is only in Korean
• Missha x Line Friends Pop Tastic Jelly Tint in Maple Latte 
• Etude House Berry Delicious Color in Juicy Lips in RD305 
• YSL Volupte Tint-in-Oil in 5 and 4 
• The Saem Eco Soul Tint in Oil in PK01 Cherry in Pink 
• Holika Holika Pro:Beauty Bloody Oil Tint in RD801 
• Nature Republic Glow Oil Tint in Baby Peach 
• Skin Food Vita Color Tint Lip Oil in RE01 
• Lancome Juicy Shakers in Vanilla Pop and Wonder Melon

The PeriPera Peri's Tint in 5 is probably the most traditional lip tint / stain I have in my collection. The texture is like water and once it dries down, it leaves a stain that lasts all day. It's also drying and so I always like wearing lip balms on top. The Missha x Line Friends Pop Tastic Jelly Tint in Maple Lane is also liquidy, but it's thicker and feels more comfortable on the lips. The color is a rosey mauve, but it swatches more orange on my arm because of the yellow tones to my skin. 

The Etude House Berry Delicious Color in Juicy Lips in RD305 is a cross between a lip gloss and lip tint. The texture is thicker the the previous two tints and it initially leaves a more glossy finish. Once that glossy finish fades, it leaves a bright red stain that also lasts all day. 

The YSL Volupte Tint-In-Oil in #5 Cherry My Cherie and #4 I Rose You started my whole lip oil obsession, but they're not my favorite. They feel nice on the lips and leave a nice stain, but they're not as moisturizing as I want them to be considering they're lip oils. The colors also take a while to develop to show their true colors. Don't get me wrong - they're still wonderful lip oils, but I've tried better.

My favorite of the whole lip oil collection is The Saem Eco Soul Tint In Oil in PK01. The color takes a bit of time to develop (not as long as the YSL) but it turns into a nice pink and it gets brighter the more you layer it on. The formula also feels cushiony soft on the lips.

The next two favorites are the Nature Republic Glow Oil Tint in Baby Peach and Skin Food Vita Color Tint Lip Oil in RE01. The only reason why these two are second place are only because The Saem oil tint is more moisturizing. The Nature Republic has a very soft and subtle shimmer throughout the product as well to give the lips more dimension. The Skin Food Tint Lip Oil is the most pigmented out of the lip oil tints, but mine leaks if I'm not careful. I don't know if I got a dud in regards to packaging, but I wanted to point it out.

The least favorite lip oil tint is the Holika Holika Pro:Beauty Bloody Oil Tint in RD801. I love the concept and how it looks like blood in the bottle, but I find that the color looks patchy on the lips. It also clings onto the dry spots and makes those areas look darker. If you don't have dry lips, I'm sure this lip oil tint would be fine on you but they're just not for me.

The Lancome Juicy Shakers in Vanilla Pop and Wonder Melon are the newest lip oils in my collection and they're just tinted lip oils instead of lip oil tints. These feel thinner than The Saem, Nature Republic, and Skin Food lip oils but still as moisturizing. I feel like the tinting aspects of the lip oil tints do make them feel more drying in the long run. I actually really love these and want more, but they're kind of like glorified tinted lip balms. 

Have you tried any of these products? Which one is your favorite? Do you have any other lip tint, lip oil tints, or tinted oils recommendations?

Review & Swatches: Cover FX Correct Click Stick in Peach

The Cover FX Correct Click Stick in Peach is part of their Click Stick range of thumb sized cream products. There's also an actual Click Stick that holds a mix and match of either two Correct, Cover, or Enhance Click Sticks. Peach is aimed towards color correcting dark circles and hyper pigmentation for light to medium skin tones. There's 5.5 grams / 0.2 ounces of product and retails for $18.

Makeup Collection: The Pinky Red Lips

I have the most uncreative titles ever, but they do get the point across!

Some time last year, I was obsessed with finding the perfect pinky red that was like a pinky strawberry or watermelon kind of red. I feel like the most common reds out there have orange, brown, blue, or neutral undertones. Pink based reds are not as common but I did find the perfect one... multiple times!

I know I know - I have a red lip problem. 

L to R -

Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in Pure

NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Plush Red

Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Melted Strawberry

Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Strawberry Kissed

Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Revolution Lipstick in Wonderland

The two lip liners I found were the Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in Pure and the NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Plush Red. Pure is very creamy and it's pretty much a matte lipstick while Plush Red is more of a traditional lip pencil in that it's more dry. Both lip pencils work very well and I highly recommend getting one (or both!) if you're interested in pinky reds.

For a stronger pink base (but still a red), the Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Melted Strawberry and the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Strawberry Kissed are great choices. I prefer Strawberry Kissed out of the two mostly because it stays on so well and leaves a matte finish. Melted Strawberry is also long lasting, but it does transfer. Both are amazing but one may be better for you depending your preference in finish. 

Lastly, the newest pinky red to my collection (that is also on sale right now!) is the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Revolution Lipstick in Wonderland. It also as a creamy formula like Melted Strawberry, but it's more pigmented and red. If it's still available by the time you red this post, I do recommend getting it! The Revolution formula is one of the best lipstick formulas I've tried too.

Doing this post rediscovered my love for pinky reds and I'm definitely going to wear Pure more often! There's also a slight chance that it's been discontinued since I can't find it anywhere online and so I'm going to go on a hunt through every store that has Rimmel to stock up!

Do you have a preference for a particular kind of red? What's your favorite pinky red?

And, how do you deal with discontinued products? I mostly just cry and live in denial.

Collection Clear Out: Magnetic Palettes & Pan/Depotted Eyeshadows

Now that it's Spring, I'm doing a bit of Spring Cleaning for my makeup collection. I'm starting off with my magnetic palettes with depotted / pan eyeshadows. The "Collection Clear Out" series is going to be kind of a progress diary to keep myself accountable so that I don't end up hoarding not often used and/or old makeup.

Even though I buy a lot of premade palettes, I often find myself not using every shade. I felt like these palettes were taking up way more space than I had and so I bought empty magnetic palettes to depot almost everything. I have also become a fan of pan eyeshadows these past few years since they were easier to customize. They're also generally cheaper as well since the cost of packaging isn't included. 

Before I knew it, I collected about 4 Z-Palettes of different sizes and 1 Unii Palette. 

I think Unii Palettes aren't sold anymore, but mine is the go-to magnetic palette since there's a mirror and it feels more secure. It is currently breaking down though and so I'm kind of scared of when it's going to die...

I keep my favorite and go-to already panned eyeshadows in it. I sometimes change it up every few months, but there's everything I need for every occasion in this palette. 

The brands included in the palette are -

Lorac - Unzipped Palette

theBalm - Nude 'Tude Palette

Black Bird Cosmetics Pressed Luxury Matte Eyeshadows

The other eyeshadow pans are in the above Z-Palettes. I initially grouped them by brands and then I realized how messy and unorganized it look. Because they were separated like this, I also found myself not grabbing for them. 

I went through a massive swatch fest and threw away the unused / not as flattering shades. I also reorganized the left over shadows by color (kind of) and fit everything into the above single palette. This is kind of the phase one of the pan eyeshadow clear out though.

The brands included in the above palette -

Shea Moisture

Wet 'n' Wild

Lorac 

Inglot

Urban Decay

Anastasia Beverly Hills

Makeup Forever

theBalm

Memebox x Pony

I definitely don't use all of these shades and so I want to give myself another 2-3 months to retry them out. If I do use them again within the time frame, I'm going to keep it. If I don't, they're going into the trash. 

Do you have any makeup clear out tips? Do you depot eyeshadows?

Feeling Lippy | Sephora VIB Haul pt 2

Part 2 of my Sephora VIB haul! This time, it's all about the lips.

As regular readers may know, I have a serious lipstick / lip product problem especially when it comes to matte reds. I've been trying to branch out and so I felt like this haul was a good enough try at that :D

Almost all of the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani products were on sale and so I decided to pick up the UD Gwen Stefani 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Ex-Girlfriend. I don't believe it's on the website anymore since it sold out, but you may be able to find it elsewhere! I actually really wanted the lipstick version, but that was already sold out by the time I made my order. It's described as a rosy brown nude lip pencil and so I got it to match with all of my rosy mauve lipsticks.

The Dior Addict Milky Tint in Milky Pop is a new product that's part of their most recent launch and so it was kind of a risk to buy. There weren't any reviews, but I like tints and Dior's packaging and so I thought "why not?!" I've also had other Dior lip products that I've loved and so I wasn't super worried about the quality. The color is brighter than I thought it would be since I saw it described as a pale strawberry, but it sheers out to be wearable and beautiful on the lips. 

The last item is something I could not pass up on! The Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipsticks are amazing and so I also picked up one of the dark reds, Nori. I also wanted to pick up Verbena, but my sister got me the Spring Fling kit that includes that color and so you'll be seeing that product later! Dark brown reds are usually the most flattering on me and so I'm very excited to wear this color all the time. 

Side Note - If you don't have the Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Chai, you need it! I saw it on Celina's blog, TheCelution, and got it because of her. We ended up getting Cindy from cindyhyue and Vanessa from CitronandGuavaberry to get it too!

L to R -

Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Nori

Dior Addict Milky Tint in Milky Pop

Urban Decay x Gwen 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Ex-Girlfriend

Did you pick up any lip products from the Sephora sale? 

Eyes On Me | Sephora VIB Haul pt 1

The Sephora Spring Sale just passed and I picked up some new things! This post was actually supposed to be second as I also bought some lip stuff, but I can't wait to start using all of these things immediately. The Viseart palette was a last minute choice and came right as I was about to leave town for the weekend. 

I'm quite a rambler and so that's why I wanted to split up the blog posts. The second part should be going up tomorrow (April 17) and it'll feature all the lip products I purchased!

The item that I kept putting and taking out of my cart was the Cover FX Click Stick in Peach. It's a peachy toned cream color corrector that will help color correct dark circles and hyper pigmentation for those who have light to medium skin tones. My dark circles have been pretty bad lately and since I've had such great luck with their Custom Cover Drops, I wanted to try this out too!

The Viseart Theory Palette in Minx was my last minute "splurge" partly because I really wanted to try Viseart and partly because those color though! I can't justify their larger palettes, but this 6 pan one seemed perfect for me since I haven't tried stuff from their brand before. My first impression is that this palette is absolutely amazing! The shadows are soft and so pigmented. The packaging is also compact with removable pans.

The last eye product is the Marc Jacobs Beauty Twinkle Pop Stick Eyeshadow in Leila. I've actually been wanting this since the last Sephora Sale, but I couldn't justify it at time because I already dropped so much money on other products. This time, I couldn't pass it up! I'm a fan of rose and copper and so this seemed like the perfect choice for me out of all their colors. I'm also a hoarder of cream eye shadow sticks because they're often very convenient and easy to use.

L to R -

Cover FX Click Stick in Peach

Viseart Theory Palette in Minx

Marc Jacobs Beauty Twinkle Pop Stick Eyeshadow in Leila

& that's it for the eyes!

Let me know what you would like to read about first and I'll try to crank out the reviews as soon as possible. I've been lagging on reviews, but I now have light past 5 and so there's more time for me to take pictures in natural lighting.

What did you pick up during the Sephora sale?

Review & Swatches: The Estee Edit Metallishadow Creme + Powder in Scarlet Eclipse

The Estee Edit Metallishadow Creme + Powder in Scarlet Eclipse includes a burgundy cream eyeshadow base and a loose rose gold (but more like golden tan) pigment. The cap also includes a small, but still usable, mirror. I actually got this because the cream base + pigment duo I wanted from Dose of Colors was out of stock. The Estee Edit is a new line from Estee Lauder and is geared more towards the younger generation. There is 0.07 ounces of product and it retails exclusively at Sephora for $25.

Review & Swatches: Etude House Look At My Eyes Eyeshadows in BR421, PP509, BR422, and PK008 [PinkBird Box]

Etude House released some new Look At My Eyes eyeshadows for their 2016 S/S Color Flower Lesson collection and they sent me BR421, PP509, BR422, and PK008* to review! BR422 is the darkest of the shades I've received, but all of the shades are light / midtone shades that fit the spring season. I also received the Flower Lesson Empty Eye Shadow Palette* that can fit 4 depotted Look At My Eyes eyeshadows! You can buy all of these products on the global Etude House website here!

Review: Etude House Pink Vital Water Serum & Toning White C Bright Kit [PinkBird Box]

It's time to talk about my recent Etude House Pink Bird Box! This is part one and it's focused on the Toning White C Bright Kit* and the Pink Vital Water Serum*. The Kit includes minis of the Clear Toner, Radiance Emulsion, Tone Up Cream, and Double Effect Sleeping Pack and they all work together to whiten hyper pigmentation and hydrate the skin.

Hao Goes Outside pt. 1

I was shocked to learn that it was possible to go outside. 

Just kidding, I have sensitive eyes and couldn't deal with the sun without my sun glasses.

When I took a small blogging / life break, I decided to go "hiking" and to the zoo with my boyfriend! Part one is just going to be for the hike and part two will be the zoo to keep the rambling to a minimum. 

The trail I went on was the Torrey Pines State Reserve in La Jolla, CA and as a fragile blob, I couldn't have gone on a better trail for my first hike. The path is pretty flat and if it's not, there's only a low incline or stairs. 

My boyfriend and I hiked for 2 hours and wasn't able to get through the whole thing. I did feel really good the whole time, but we got pretty hungry and went and got KBBQ instead. 

Honestly, it was a good thing I stopped since I haven't done anything physical for about 2 years. I ended up taking a nap after KBBQ and woke up with my legs totally dead. 

Look at me trying to be artsy fartsy and failing because it's just landscape. 

I'm weirdly very proud of the above picture. I took my handy dandy Glossier Balm Dotcom with me not only for my dry lips, but also for any dry skin emergencies. Even though it was so gorgeous outside, it was kind of windy since I was so close to the water. 

Again, the sun is my enemy.

I'm planning on going on this trail again sometime soon because I really want to see the rest of the view. The end is supposed to be even more gorgeous than what I saw in the beginning and so I can't wait! 

Anyway! One last note before I end this post. My Etude House giveaway did end and a huge congrats to Emily P! I've already contacted her and will be sending out the package soon. 

I will be doing another giveaway in May for my blog anniversary and so look out for that!

Glow Baby Glow! ft. Liquid Illuminators / Highlighters

Liquid highlighters / illuminzers have become a recent obsession of mine and now I kind of want at least one from every brand. I've also been getting some illuminating bases as well to give myself even more glow. 

I pretty much want to look like a Twilight vampire but not as emo. 

Swatched L to R - 

Becca Cosmetics Backlight Priming Filter

Benefit Cosmetics High Beam

Becca Cosmetics Liquid Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal

MAC Cosmetics Strobe Cream

Burberry Fresh Glow Luminous Base

Etude House Dreaming Swan Shine Volumer in Twinkling Tutu

Benefit Cosmetics Girl Meets Pearl (review here)

Life's Entropy Galaxy Glow Illuminator in Solar Flare (review here)

For illuminating bases, my favorite out of the ones I have is probably the Becca Cosmetics Backlight Priming Filter. It gives me just enough glow and helps prolong my foundation. I felt like the Burberry one did nothing to my face and I didn't have strong feelings about the MAC Strobe Cream. I did like that it gave my dry face some more moisture though. 

For liquid highlighters, all of them are my favorite! I can't choose since they're all great, but just have different undertones. 

The Life's Entropy Galaxy Glow Illuminator is the most pigmented and so I'm scared to use that one when I'm in a rush, but it's gorgeous. It also works well as a liquid highlighting blush if I layer it on. 

I also like to mix the Becca Cosmetics Liquid Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal in foundations since the undertone matches my actual skin undertone more. 

For more subtle highlighting but still with some color, I love the Benefit Cosmetics Girl Meets Pearl. I really can't get enough of this product since it's so easy to throw on to add a little something to my look. 

The Etude House Dreaming Swan Shine Volumer in Twinkling Tutu is actually limited edition, but it's still available for a little bit longer! It's more on the glitter side and so I only use this on my eyes. It works great as a base for matte shadows and in the inner corner or lower lashline to draw more attention to the eyes. 

Let me know what your favorite illuminators / liquid highlighters are! I want to try one of the NARS ones next, but there's also some MAC ones I might get first.

Haul | Feeling Fresh with Lush!

I went to Lush recently to mostly pick up a lip scrub, but ended up also buying two Fresh Face Masks! Something about that store always makes me want to get more. Lush was one of the few brands that worked really well on skin when I was constantly breaking out and so I always like to stop by to see what's new. 

The item I went into Lush for is the Mint Julep Lip Scrub. Even though it's Spring, the weather is sill a bit cold and it's been drying out my lips. I used this lip scrub years ago and loved it so I wanted to repurchase it to make my lips soft and smooth again.

The Fresh Face Mask that I've been wanting to try for weeks is Catastrophe Cosmetic. I wanted a mask that was geared towards breakouts other than Cosmetic Warrior, which smelled so strongly of garlic that I hated it. The sales associate said that the Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask is made up of more skin calming ingredients.

The other mask I got was Don't Look At Me and it's supposed to be for brightening. The bright blue color immediately drew me in, but the ingredients slightly worry me. The sales associate said that this mask is made up of 20% lemon juice and I've read that the pH of lemon juice is generally too acidic for the face. I'm going to proceed with caution, but I've used it once before writing this post (I couldn't wait!) and my skin didn't feel irritated. I don't know much about skincare and so please educate if you know more! I've found a lot of posts about just lemon juice, but not as much about lemon juice as an ingredient (besides lemon juice + baking soda/sugar mixtures). 

Have you tried any of these products? What's your favorite face mask?