Violet Box April 2015

Morning Lovelies!!

Violet Box had a few issues this month, their sneak peek didn't end up making it to their warehouse in time, so they've thrown together a box in order to get it out.  Hence it's only here on the 30/4 (so most people will get their box in May).

 Honestly, it looks thrown together this month :(

Urban Skincare Co Daily Hand and Body Cleanser-RRP $26.95 (500ml)-sample size (35ml)

This smells lovely, like oranges.  It's a soap alternative, can be used on the hands/body or as bubble bath.  It has both calcium and magnesium in it, and coriander oil.  It isn't tested on animals, paraben free etc.  sounds interesting.

Lonvitalite C2 Collagen Protein Wrinkle Removing Mask-RRP $39.95-sample size

I think i had this complaint last month?  Maybe the month before.  These masks are sold separately for $9.95, the RRP given to us by VB is for a box.  Therefore the RRP should be $9.95, the value of the box isn't bumped up by giving us the price of the box.  That said, i'd be really happy for this brand to not be included in next months box.

Lipsi Cosmetics Aphrodite Powder-RRP $38-sample size

This is really, really tiny.  Full size is 21g, this is only 4g.  It's a finishing powder, from reviews i've read the colour does suit multiple skintones, first look though it's pale.  Very pale.  It absorbs excess oil.  The company is interesting, though, they're inspired by Greek beauty, and are named after a Greek island.  Cruelty free, they donate money to help families in Greece, and focus on natural beauty (POD would be proud).

Evelyn Iona Natural and Organic Concealer-RRP $24.99-sample size

I'm happy to see the brand back, i loved the lipgloss last year.  This, however, i'm not sure what to make of, and the above product might come in handy.  This is made out of Vit E, Cocoa Seed butter and coconut, jojoba and castor seed oils.  It's oily!  It seems quite sheer, and i think anyone with oily skin is going to find this won't work for them.  I'm going to have a play with it, and see what i can do, but i just don't know if it'll do much, or stay put.  And another thing.  If you do want to use this, put it to the front of your stash, it's the type of product that is going to go rancid easily. You can smell the oils used.

Tini Beauty Eye Shadow by Rob Scheppy-RRP $16-full size

This is another repeat brand.  It's a nice, neutral champagne-y coloured eye shadow.  It's fairly well pigmented, is nice and soft, with not a huge amount of fallout.  It's going to be a nice base colour for most people.

Transformulas Eye Lifting Gel and FaceContour and Tightening Creme-RRP $49 and $59-sample size

Ok VB, i get the picture, it's my birthday next week and i'm getting old (between this, the mask and concealer).  But i still have another year in my 20's, so bugger off!  These are the most dreaded sachet samples, the eye gel may have enough for 2 uses, although feels like it's mostly air, same for the creme.  GAH!!

Aphrodite powder, concealer and eye shadow swatches

All in all, it isn't the worst box i've ever received, but it does feel very thrown together.  I know we're spoilt normally by VB, but the sheer amount of samples in the box is a let down.  Hopefully everything gets back on track for May.

What do you think? 

Leezi Abundance Stained Lip Gloss

Afternoon all!

I've been giving Ebay a workout recently.  I spotted these little beauties, and thought i'd try them out.  Please excuse the photos, it's miserable outside and what's constituting as natural light is very dull.

These are Leezi Abundance Stained Lip Glosses/  They were $1.36 each!  They came in these gorgeous gold boxes, with an ingredients list and an interesting product description (which has quite clearly been translated to english, i don't think anyone wants a 'Bloody moist feeling').  The boxes are something you expect to find in Priceline, and don't come across as cheap.

The actual glosses have a clear base and a pretty cream top (it almost looks metallic or iridescent).  They're really sturdy tubes, better than anything BOE puts out (and cheaper). 

The applicator isn't quite a doe foot, but is the same kind of idea, and is extremely easy to use.

Enough about the packaging, let's move on to the product itself.

First thing's first.  These aren't glosses.  They're stains.  They're pretty much identical to the Peripera Milk Tints. 

However, they're nice stains.  They are easy to build up the colour, they stain nicely (i've had the swatches on for over an hour, i've washed my hands and i still have marks on my hand.  The tints are drying, all the brands i've tried are the same.  They are perfect for a low maintenance lip colour, apply the tint first thing, then carry around a balm or gloss for moisture.  The pale pink (#18) only leaves a faint mark, the purple (#16) is darker, and the dark pink (#17) leaves a very bright stain.  None of the stains are scented.

For the price these are amazing.  They aren't what i expected, but i can see myself using them regularly, and i'm thinking of buying the 2 colours i didn't buy.

I bought them from http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Cosmetic-Glitter-Long-Lasting-Bright-Moisturize-Lip-Gloss-Lipstick-Lip-Cream-O47-/321656565302?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&var=&hash=item4ae439ae36

Sorry All- Vent Time

Morning All!

I hate to do this, but i need to have a vent.

I've just read a blog post where a woman was having a whinge about a bright pink blush that was included in a palette.  She said that such a bright pink blush wasn't cute, and proceeded to post a picture of a MUA wear a similar colour blush, saying 'this isn't cute.  And i can find 25 things wrong in this photo'.

Fuck me!  The MUA in question is an amazing artist.  Her looks aren't for everyone, but she is successful in what she does, and you can't help but see the skill she has.  I follow her Tumblr, and i can't help but marvel when she posts.  I couldn't do any of them.

I mean, look at this!

The majority of the beauty blogging community is female.  Statistically we're up against a tonne of crap, and we're all here trying to carve out something for ourselves talking/doing something we love.  We should be supporting each other, not stabbing each other in the back, or knocking someone for doing something that doesn't fit your style.

I commented on the blog in question, hopefully it makes her think.

Benefit Roller Lash

Morning Ladies!

Everyone knows of Benefit, right?  Products like They're Real have made their way into beauty must haves, and the newest is Roller Lash!  I was lucky enough to win a pack from Benefit a few weeks ago, it arrived on Monday and i'm here to tell you all about the new product.

This is the pack i won, a gorgeous Benefit cosmetics bag (photos do not do it justice, it's sparkly, and shimmery, and just beautiful), and a full sized Roller Lash mascara. 

The Roller Lash packaging is lovely, the pink handle is rubberised, so is so easy to keep a grip on.  It feels solid, and isn't going to break.  One thing to keep in mind is that the handle will attract dirt and grime like no tomorrow (as all rubberised packaging does), nothing that a quick wipe down can't fix, though.

From the Benefit website:

It’s a roller for lashes! The eye-opening Hook ‘n’ Roll™ brush grabs, separates, lifts and curls…while the instant curve-setting formula holds for 12 hours.

Curl Power!

97% said it visibly lifts lashes*

87% said it gives long-lasting curl*

94% said eyes look more wide open*

 

Easy-to-remove
Contains Provitamin B5 and Serin, ingredients known for their lash-conditioning benefits
Water-resistant
Ink black
Satin finish

Roller Lash is made in France, each tube contains 8.5g of product and i can't seem to find if the packaging is recyclable or if the company tests on animals (if anyone knows, let me know :) )

Now on to the fun part, swatches!  My lashes aren't the worst out there, they're not the longest, but thickish and with a decent mascara look respectable. 

This is me with nothing on (sorry about that).  As you can see my lashes aren't marvelous, but they're there.

This is one coat of Roller Lash.  As you can see it's added some curl, and it has definitely made my lashes show up.

And this is 2 coats.  More curl!

I like Roller Lash.  It helped curl my lashes, thus opening up my eyes, it didn't clump them together, it was easy to use and i think gave decent results.  I did find my lashes sticking together slightly over the day (i rubbed my eyes a couple of times, and my lashes felt funny afterwards), and due to the rubbing i did get slight panda eyes.  Otherwise it didn't move, it didn't flake, and my lashes still looked good at the end of the day.  I will admit i went to bed with it on (lazy i know), so i can't tell you how easy it is to remove, but i didn't wake up with mascara everywhere, which is a good thing.

Roller Lash isn't the best mascara i've ever tried (i think that award is a tie between They're Real and Essence's Lash Princess), but it is definitely up there with the better ones.  It works well, looks great, and allows you to skip a step of your makeup routine.

Have you tried Roller Lash yet?  What do you think?

Me Now Perfect Eye/Lip Pencils

Morning all!

A few weeks ago i was browsing through Ebay (as you do), and i found these gorgeous eye/lip pencils.  So i bought a set!

These are the Me Now Generation II Perfect Eye/Lip Liner Pencils.  Individually they go for $1-$1.30 (if you can find the colours you want), or as a pack of 12 for around $6.50 AUD (i bought mine from Tinxi-English). 

They're lovely.  All the pencils are soft and go on smoothly, the colours are bright and highly pigmented, and they're cheap!  They do need sharpening, but for the price i can forgive that.  The pencils themselves are beautiful, a shimmery cream background with patterns in the same colour as the pencil.

The colours!  From top to bottom-

#001-Black
#015-Brown
#010-Bronze (metallic)
#012-Gold (metallic)
#013-Red
#003-Pink
#007-Purple (metallic)
#008-Royal Blue
#009-Aqua Blue (metallic)
#005-Dark Blue-Green
#011-Emerald? Green (metallic)
#014-Olive-Lime Green (metallic)

As you can see they do smudge (but what a pretty smudge!), but i did this as soon as i finished applying them.  When left for a few minutes they are harder to smudge, and they leave a marked even after i scrubbed my arm.

For the price these are amazing, and they're perfect if you're looking to experiment with different colours.  I can't wait to play with mine some more.