L'Oreal Colour Caresse: Shine Stain Vs. Lipstick (Review + Lip Swatches)

I wanted to do a quick comparison on the new L'Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick and Wet Shine Stain. I currently only have one of each as I am really picky with what I buy. I typically have to look up shades, reviews, and swatches before purchasing. I have quite pigmented lips, so knowing how dark lipsticks show up on me I tend to buy them sparingly to avoid ending up with a bunch of colours I can't use. I know these are popularly compared to the YSL's, but I've never tried those (and probably never will, I can't justify spending $40 on one lipstick or gloss) so I can't compare these to them!

I was only planning on picking up the Lipstick in 181 Sheer Linen, because I don't like glosses. Right now the only other glosses I own are those previously given out in beauty boxes. But I ended up getting the Wet Shine Stain in 187 Infinite Fuchsia during a spur of the moment thing. Gee what a waste of $10!

Infinite Fuchsia looks to be a hot pink with a hint of red in the tube, like a true deep fuchsia. Sheer Linen looks like a medium brown, but it actually comes off much lighter than what you see.

L'Oreal Colour Caresse Wet Shine Stain:

Available in 12 Shades - $9.96 for 0.21 oz or 6.3 ml

What It's Suppose to Do: L'Oreal claims this to be a hydrating gloss with staining properties. It is suppose to contain 30% water so the lips will be left soft and hydrated for up to 6 hours. Product is suppose to feel 'barely there' with a non-sticky feel. 

My Opinion: My first dislike was the smell. Some have said it smells like flowers, it smells like strong chemicals to me.. medicine or something. I can smell the floral scent, but it definitely does not smell like real flowers! I can't comment on how long this stains on me, or whether it dries out my lips or not, because I couldn't wear it for longer than 15 minutes. It did leave a stain in that span of time but it left it in all the wrong places. I can say that this gloss/shine stain needs to be applied evenly very quickly because otherwise it will end up very blotchy, and stain darker in certain areas. I am quite pale with dark hair, and thought this looked too overpowering on my skin, it was way too dark. Maybe on tanned skin, with smaller lips, it would look a lot less "whoa". That's actually the reaction I got while trying this on at home, which discouraged me to want to wear it out!

Swatches: Okay, so, the first two photos look okay, but I can assure you it's quite darker in person. When I applied multiple layers (I actually just accidentally kept slathering it on, you will see...) it seemed to cling to certain areas, ended up being really blotchy. 

Taken on a different day... (this was actually attempt number 1 below, I know.. BAD application on my part!)

So in order to get an even, opaque, colour, you need to apply multiple layers, or you will have a very light stain (which can be better!) But on my lips, Infinite Fuchsia is definitely a no. The colour isn't right for me. Would definitely not buy this again, but besides the colour, I don't like the formula or the scent either. the fast drying doesn't leave a lot of time for those who aren't so quick with application. I don't feel like the sheer colours from this line are even worth it because they wouldn't leave a noticeable stain without layers and layers of application.

Pros:

- Colour can be built with layering
- Does leave a stain
- Thin, wet, formula

Cons:
- Colour not right for my skin tone or lip size

- Scent smelt chemically

- Need to apply quickly

- Requires multiple layers for opacity

- Applies blotchy and accentuates darker spots

L'Oreal Colour Caresse Lipstick:

Available in 12 Shades - $9.96 for 0.1 oz or 2.96 ml

What It's Suppose to Do: "Formulated with 50% less wax than traditional lipstick, the revolutionary Lightfeel System delivers a feather-light finish that’s never sticky or heavy."

My Opinion: More on the sheer side, but can be built up for opacity. I LOVE this lipstick and am planning to buy a lot more from this line. I can wear it for the entire day without feeling like it's drying out my lips too much. I don't have to worry about the colour fading because it is similar enough to my true lip colour. I can't explain how much I love this. It feels buttery and smooth, doesn't accentuate any dark or deep lines in my lips, and it hides the redness or dark spots from my lip picking habit.. (hehe). I found that Maybelline Color Whisper went on smooth (not as smooth as this) but ended up drying out my lips in a few hours that I couldn't even re-apply, I had to use a balm instead. With these, I can wear the colour on my lips all day. Okay actually, they can be a bit drying on my lips, but I realize that everything from lip butters to lip treatments to lipsticks dry out my lips and causes me picking them in the end. I think I need to apply a balm in between application. This is definitely a wearable nude that doesn't lighten up my lips too much. The scent is pleasant, smells like candy, and it doesn't taste bad.

Swatches:

Pros:
- Sheer but can be built up

- Feels buttery soft, light on lips

- Very wearable nude

- Covers redness or dark spots

- Has a much better, candy scent to it

Cons:

- Rubs/fades away quickly, needs often reapplying
- Slightly drying after an hour or so, although my lips seem to dry out from almost everything

So this kind of ended up turning into a 'Reasons Why I Don't Like the L'Oreal Wet Shine Stain' post but I had to express the things I dislike about it, and to warn others who have darker or more pigmented lips to avoid these darker colours. The Colour Caresse lipsticks definitely win by a landslide in my books. I don't believe buying a lighter colour in the Wet Shine Stains would have made a difference either, I don't like the formula in general. 

Which do you prefer, if you have tried both? L'Oreal's Colour Caresse Lipsticks or Wet Shine Stains?

MUA Haul + Shadows & Heaven and Earth Palette Swatches

As I'm sure all of you may know Makeup Academy had a crazy 50% off sale on their official online store after reaching 50,000 likes on their Facebook page!

MUA's products are super affordable and the only thing holding me back from constantly purchasing is the shipping price. International delivery is £7.50 and once converted to CAD, $11.65. Their 12 shadow palettes are super affordable at £4 ($6.22 CAD). Once shipping charges are added the price increases significantly. To me it is only worth it if you are purchasing a larger order when ordering to Canada.

Anywhoo! I got everything here for 50% off with free shipping! A lot of stuff I wanted was sold out by the time I was able to make a purchase like the brushes, fur effects for nails, and lipsticks. We had to purchase a total of £30 so when 50% was taken off the order amount was at least $23.31 CAD. I spent $25.33 in total for 13 products!

Complete Haul

MUA Heaven and Earth Palette

The colours in this palette are all warm neutrals. There is 9.6g of product in total. This is actually my favourite purchase and I wish I had gotten another palette, for $3 the pigmentation is great! Works best over primer, when I tried the colours without primer I did not think they showed up as well. The only problem I have with this palette is getting it open grr! It's a struggle every time.

Heaven on Earth Palette Swatches: L to R - First 6: Top Row, Last 6: Bottom Row

Swatched over MUA Professional Eye Primer

My camera likes to change the colour of the image on me a lot after the photo has been taken so I took additional close up swatches but I think the image above shows a better representation of the colours.

Heaven on Earth Palette: Top Row Swatches (over primer)

Heaven on Earth Palette: Bottom Row Swatches (over primer)

MUA Eye Shadow Swatches

Swatched over MUA Professional Eye Primer

Top image taken with flash, sorry I will try to retake a photo w/o flash, I had forgotten to take it earlier!

Matte #16: This is a matte highlight colour that reminds me of Virgin from my UD Naked Palette, but without the shimmer. Best to be used when you do not want to draw too much attention to the brow bone with a shimmer highlight. I find it to be a little on the pink side. 

Matte #19: I use this for my eyebrows. I really like it for the crease as well. It works great for both these purposes because it is a matte.

Pearl #9: I love this purple in the pan, but it just doesn't work as well on the eyes. It definitely needs to be built up but has a very pretty shimmer to it. I have to admit, I cannot get this to work for me with a brush. It can be used with a finger but it takes a lot to build up the colour. 

Pearl #24: This colour is a little lighter than expected but I think it would be a nice subtle colour for all over the lid. It kind of seems like a light metallic pink/mauve.

Pearl #13: Like I said about #9, the formula is not as creamy for these purples and definitely need to be built up. I also could not get this to work with my crease brush, so I have yet to actually use this. 

Omg ew the nails! But you can see how pretty the shimmer is here for both #9 and #13.

MUA Pro-Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit

Next is the MUA Pro-Brow Kit! I tend to lean towards powder products to fill in my brows because its faster and I don't like it to be very noticeable. 

There are 3 colours, a dark & light brown, highlight, and a wax. 

MUA Pro-Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit: swatched over bare skin (L to R: Dark brown, light brown, highlight)

The highlight is similar to the light brown in the photo, but the light brown is slightly darker in person. Overall the colours look as if they can easily work with anyone with dark or light brows. 

MUA Professional Eyes Primer

I have not tried this on my lids yet but swatched the palette and shadows over this, and it really brightened and held onto the pigment of the shadows. Edit: I have tried it on the lids, and I really do not like it! It is a decent primer, but the staying power is terrible! I think it only lasted a few hours before creasing. 

MUA Pro-Base Fixing Mist, & MUA Matte Perfect Loose Powder

I found the fixing mist to make my skin a little too dewy for my liking because by an hour or so it ends up looking like that anyway. I also didn't like the feeling on my face, I felt like I needed to rub it in. The Perfect Loose Powder is mattifying and there seems to be a ton of product in it!

MUA Nail Constellations in Scorpio & Pisces

I had a really difficult time applying this. The rubber nozzle makes it difficult. Also there is a piece of plastic you have to remove before pouring it on your nail, I wasn't careful and popped open the top and the beads went everywhere, all over the laptop! They really are super tiny. Make sure to do this over a box or bowl.

First Attempt (Fail) - 1 Layer of Nicole by OPI Modern Family Collection: Am I Making Myself Claire? & MUA Nail Constellation in Pisces

My first attempt with these as an accent nail. This actually lasted for almost a week with 2 topcoats but it didn't look the greatest because I couldn't apply it properly in the first place. This definitely needs practise and the right technique. Hopefully my next attempt will be an improvement :)

Totally forgot to take a photo of the mascara. But I'll do a review/comparison on it soon anyway!

Did you get anything from MUA lately? I'd love to see other reviews on their products!

Topbox: February 2013 Regular Box!

For Topbox subscribers, this month we had the option to choose between 3 different Prive boxes or the regular Topbox. I actually haven't blogged about my January Topbox yet (that's how unexcited I was about the products!), which was the first mandatory 'Prive' box. I hope to get that blog post up later this week however, it really was nothing special for me. 

Anyway, the Prive box basically is a whole box dedicated to one brand, for that specific month. So for this month's Prive box, we got an email stating the 3 different brands; Benefit Cosmetics, Miracle 10, & Lippy Girl. We were also shown the exact items we would be receiving. I was excited about the Benefit box because I don't own any Benefit products, but after looking at reviews of the products I realized I wouldn't be using the majority of them...

So I was unsure whether or not we would receive items from the Prive boxes in our regular Topbox, in which case I would probably just end up going for the Benefit box, but when I asked customer service I was told we would be receiving completely different products, so I took the chance, and I'm glad I did!

Now onto the contents of the box! I received BOX #1

Make Up For Ever Pro Finish in 118 Neutral Beige

Card Says: Multi-Use Powder Foundation that can be applied wet or dry for buildable coverage and a customized finish. 

I've actually been eyeing this at the store but the price is so high for something that could possibly break me out that I just have to force myself walk away every time! I wish I received this in a lighter colour though. I tried this on and it is way too dark for my skin tone, I can imagine it working in the summer if I tan (which usually doesn't happen easily, I burn). I wonder if they gave everyone this colour or? I hope to contact them to figure out why I received such a dark colour.

Received: 2g @ $8.40 Full Size: 10g for $42

B. Kamins Nutrient Replacement Cream Kx

Card Says: This nourishing cream provides essential nutrients to improve skin's appearance. Use for hydrated, healthy and brighter skin.

This is a very generous sample! I tried this for the past few days on one side of my face and my aunt actually says that side looks better! It feels smoother, however it is not oil-free, but I don't feel oily, just as if there's a film over my skin. It doesn't smell like anything special, my bf said it smelt like his grandma's skincare products -_- It does have salicylic acid in it, which could have been the slight burning/cooling feeling I felt when I put this on after showering. But it actually seems to be helping my skin so far! I need to test it for a few more weeks however, the only downfall is the super steep price...
EDIT: The tingly/cooling feeling I was feeling is actually menthyl lactate. Various websites say it could cause more acne and redness, but I am unsure if these are credential... Anyway I will discontinue using it and see if my skin improves.

Received: 14.18g @ $47.90 Full Size: 45g for $152

Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish in Ray of Light

Card Says: Deborah Lippmann's luxury line of award winning nail lacquers was created as a result of her working with some of the more iconic figures in fashion from Cher to Sarah Jessica Parker.

I only have one other Deborah Lippmann polish and it was from a Topbox last summer! The polish has red/blue/green/orange flakes in it and looks lovely through the bottle, I've seen reviews saying it is tough to apply though! I'm delighted to receive another DL and will do a review on it soon.

Received Full Size: 15ml @ $20 (Murale.ca has them ranging from $20-25, and the card says avaiable at Holt Renfrew) 

KMS California FREESHAPE quick blow dry

Card Says: For anyone who wants faster drying and heat protection. Reduces drying time by up to 50%! 

This is an interesting product, I've seen reviews on other blogs and they are positive, stating that this actually works! The website says it reduces friction as well as conditioning lightly. I don't blow dry my hair but I want to now! 

Received: 30ml @ $2.81 Full Size: $18.75 for 200ml

Total Value: $79.11

Overall, I am very pleased with my February 2013 Topbox! I will definitely be able to use all of the products, except the MUFE, but I will possibly be able to in the summer!

Empties #1: January 2013

For my first empties post I had to combine 2 months into one because there was just not enough products the first month. So these are my December 2012 and January 2013 empties! I have an issue with finishing products, I always leave a tiny bit left JUST incase I need it a few months down the road and it just sits there on the shelf.. and I never get around to finishing it. Okay so here are the products I actually did completely finish!

I know a few things aren't beauty or hair products but I felt the need to include them :p

Nexxus Humectress Ultimate Hydrating Shampoo & Conditioner: The scent for this duo was lovely, at first I thought it smelt chemically, but then the shampoo smelt like coconuts to me (I can't describe scents well..) and the conditioner smelt like somewhat of a fruit blend. The shampoo lathered vey well and the conditioner left my hair soft and flowy. I can't say I noticed a difference using it though, it wasn't anything special, my hair is thin, brittle, and flat and it did not volumize which is what I look for in a shampoo.

Purchase? No

Fekkai Full Blown Volume Shampoo: I got this free during a Holt Renfew promotion. Very sudsy and lathered well, I didn't have to use much at once so it lasted a while. I love this for volume, but I think I used it too often that now that I don't use it, I realize how flat my hair really is! It is way too expensive to repurchase.

Purchase? Yes, if it was less expensive or goes on sale.

White Barn Frosted Cupcake Candle: I loveee this scent so much! It smells like a vanilla cupcake. I also didn't think it would last so long considering I burned it every day. I think this was a winter/christmas special though which makes me sad.

Purchase? Yes, if I could find it again.

Posh Brush Cleaner: I almost finished this and left it in my drawer for a while. Brought it out again, I hate it. Don't know why I used so much of it. I realized it makes my brushes dry and rough, however it does decently clean them. Has a strong alcohol smell. I would not recommend this. 

Purchase? No! Never again.

L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara in Black (Waterproof): Clearly I used this Loreal mascara until I couldn't anymore.. It held the curl of my straight lashes really well and I did see a lot of volume. Purchase? Yes!

Multibionta Probiotic Multivitamins: Didn't feel any different taking these, however they are suppose to be really good for you.

Purchase? No, unless they were majorly discounted.

Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake Shower Gel: I don't like products that are all in one. It didn't feel right as a body wash, it felt like shampoo on my body because of the creaminess and thick texture. I really did like the scent, however, it is too expensive for what it is.

Purchase? No

Yves Rocher Express Cleanser for Sensitive Eyes: The only eye makeup remover I can use. It's inexpensive, takes all kind of makeup off very easily, even waterproof and lip stains. Only problem is it's oily and smears everywhere! I can live with it though, especially for the price. It looks like it's discontinued though, I don't know why! But they only have the 'Gentle' not the 'Express' on their website.

Purchase? Yes, but it seems to be discontinued.

The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil: I went through 2 bottles of this to realize it stings and burns my sensitive skin, and possibly, makes my blemishes even redder. I dropped it and it cracked so the 1/4 I had left spilt out. I think this is a good product for people that don't have sensitive skin, however, I'm not sure if The Body Shop's is too strong because of the alcohol and other ingredients in it. I've seen 100% pure tea tree oil products from companies such as Thursday Plantation and Holista at Walmart and have been curious to try these, although I've heard they could be just as, or even stronger.

Purchase? No

Orlane 25+ First Time-Fighting Care Eye Contour: For some reason my product was only like 1/4 full. But it was runny and I didn't need much for my under eye. It felt nice and I feel like it did help the skin underneath my eye, but I wish I had a larger (or at least full) sample or was able to test it again.

Purchase? No, this wasn't a large enough sample.

Orlane Light Smoothing Cream: Felt light and hydrating on the skin, I didn't use it while my skin was at it's driest point so I'm not sure how well it worked. I didn't have a large enough sample to figure out if it was worth the price.

Purchase? No, too expensive and again this wasn't a large enough sample.

Nivea Hydro Care: Purchased this like 4 times to realize it wasn't hydrating my lips. I felt like it made them drier. After discovering EOS, I won't be buying this brand of lip care anymore.

Purchase? No

Clear Prep Fx Matte Primer & Anti-Acne Treatment Gel: I think the salicylic acid in this was breaking me out more. I got tiny bumps from using this product and my face was better off without using the primer. I had to stop using this. 

Purchase? No

John Frieda Full Body Shampoo & Conditioner: I actually bought the full sizes of these before I got the sample to try. I loved the conditioner and finished it quite a while ago, it was softening. The shampoo was okay, I didn't use it because I like volumizing shampoo, but it seemed pretty standard to me.

Purchase? Yes, I would purchase the conditioner again.

Kaia Naturals 100% Natural Bamboo Facial Cleansing Cloth: The cloth was really good quality and very soft. The ingredients seem somewhat natural, I don't think it broke me out, I had to really rub my face to get the makeup off though, there was not a lot of product on the cloth. 

Purchase? No, I would if it was inexpensive to have more time to test it out. 

Coola Cucumber Mineral Face Sunblock Matte Finish: This product left me with a white cast, I tried it twice and couldn't do it. It feels very mattifying and goes on smoothly, it definitely could be great as a primer like the packaging says. I didn't like it though, had to rub it in a lot to fade the white cast and you definitely can't wear it by itself, need a foundation or tinted moisturizer over it.

Purchase? No! But I'd like to try one of their other face spf's.

Vitamints Immune Sugar-Free Tablets: These had a very strong minty taste. I actually couldn't finish one without my eyes watering haha, you can taste the vitamin too which is kind of weird. I would recommend them for someone who likes strong mints and has them daily, because you get your daily vitamin combined with it!

Purchase? No, taste buds aren't strong enough heh.

MaskerAide Hydrating Facial Sheet Mask in Weather Warrior: This didn't quite moisturize my face as well as I'd like it to, but it felt smooth and soft afterwards. I still had flakiness on my face but I didn't exfoliate before using this, which I should have. I'm not sure if the witch hazel irritated my skin or not, but I loved the way this mask felt on the skin. It is pricey at $5 each and I don't think I would repurchase.

Purchase? No, pricey at $5 each to use often.