Gentle Lip Exfoliator: Philosophy Kiss Me
Philosophy Kiss Me Exfoliating Lip Scrub
($15.00 for 0.5 oz.) is a very thin, sugar-based scrub with a strong peppermint scent (and the tingle that comes from it).
This works when it works, but it needs to be stored with the cap facing upwards, and you might have to squeeze the tube around. The oils separate quite a bit from the rest of the product, which means you’ll end up squeezing out mostly oil and very little sugar–rendering it way less effective as a scrub. The sugar crystals are incredibly fine, so if you have sensitive lips, this might be an option for a lip exfoliator as compared to more traditional sugar scrubs, which definitely have thicker, grittier crystals.
The peppermint oil in it is the most noticeable scent of the product, and it also makes lips tingle–but it’s not a painful tingle, just a sort of minty-fresh tingle. I find that it doesn’t taste so hot, and I think it might be due to the peppermint oil (I’ve never found any lip product that has peppermint oil in it to taste good!), so I usually rinse it off rather than simply blot with a tissue or paper towel (as recommended).
I think this product needs a better delivery system, because the existing packaging is too finicky and prone to providing less-than-stellar results. I can imagine people purchasing this, squeezing out a bunch of oil, and being utterly confused as to why this is called a lip exfoliator. Even though the packaging disappoints, the product is decent and the price tag makes it affordable.
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- Product: 25/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 2/5
Recommendation: If you’re willing to work with the squeeze tube a bit, you might get a nice, gentle exfoliator out of this product. It’s particularly nice for those who find traditional sugar scrubs too thick/gritty for their lips.
Availability: Sephora
Two-Minute Reviews: CoverGirl Eyeshadow Palette, Physicians Formula Healthy Glow, Smashbox Heartbreaker
The concept behind two-minute reviews is mostly products that I photographed, swatched, but I never ended up reviewing. Rather than just bury the photos into the “Unlikely to Review” folder and never let them see the light of day, I decided that perhaps a quickie review was better than no review at all… Let me know if you’d rather a quickie review than no review
CoverGirl Vibrant Browns (#700) Eyeshadow Palette ($7.49) is a palette that features four shades of eyeshadow: a softened, matte black with glitter overlay, subdued blue-toned sheer gray with silver sheen, muted copper with orange-gold shimmer and frost finish, and an incredibly sheer white with sheen. The colors are all on the sheerer side, and the shadows themselves just don’t grab me. I think one or two more muted shades might work, but these altogether just don’t. I find the gold too warm to work with the coolness of the black and gray. Quick Rating: C-
Physicians Formula Healthy Glow Shimmer Strips ($11.95) reminded me of Bobbi Brown’s Shimmerbricks. Healthy Glow is a gradation of light, icy pink to a muted raspberry pink. The colors are better used together rather than alone, as individually, they’re not very pigmented. Together, they create a lightened raspberry with a frosty white sheen. This is great for those with closer-to-flawless skin, because it’s pretty and shimmery–but if you have larger pores, the high frost finish will accentuate them. For a drugstore blush, though, the price is a little steeper than I’d like to see. Quick Rating: B
Smashbox Heartbreaker Collection looked super cute in the promos, but I wasn’t loving it when I saw some of the pieces in person. In fact, I loved the actual box packaging infinitely more than the product packaging! The boxes are cute with doodles and polaroids on it–just sweet and fitting for the theme. The shiny white plastic makes it look and feel on the cheap side, and Smashbox really isn’t a cheap brand. I tend to think of Smashbox as more of a mid-to-high end brand. I tried three products: Starlight Fusion Soft Lights ($30), Rollerball Lip Gloss ($21), and Liquid Liner Pen ($24). I reviewed the eyeliner previously, but I never got around to the other two products. Despite looking rather vibrant in the pan, Starlight is a very soft, lightened raspberry sorbet with a soft champagne sheen. It didn’t show up very well on my medium skin tone, so I wasn’t never driven to wear it in a look (hence this quickie review!). Quick Rating: C+
The Rollerball Lip Gloss was very much the same — it’s clear gloss with icy white shimmer. It’s very slightly pink tinged, but on lips, it looks clear. I also felt like the Rollerball packaging made me feel like I was using Bonne Bell (which is fine… if I’m paying Bonne Bell prices!). Quick Rating: C-
Before / After
Concealer Reviews: Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener
Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener ($38.00 for 1.5ml) is a lightweight concealer/eye brightener. This is a long-standing product, but it was recently repackaged into a pen delivery system. The original version was available in a pot form, which some found a bit messy. It always did a nice job of covering up undereye circles and instantly brightening the eyes on those hurried mornings, but I feel like the product in the new packaging just doesn’t do it for me–on all points!
Even though the pen makes it much more portable and easier to use on-the-go, because you don’t have to use a separate brush, and you also don’t have to worry so much about it drying out… It can also allow for more bacteria growth, since the product is coming into more direct contact with your skin and if you don’t clean or wipe off the brush, it can cause build-up. For that reason alone, I’ve just never been a huge fan of brush-type anything (gloss, concealer, whatever!). Because the product gets twisted up and delivered by being pushed up onto the brush, the product itself feels like it’s much thinner/runnier than the original pot version. I find this almost makes it easy to over-apply, because you don’t have the same level of control over how much squeezes out of the pen.
My last complaint is the size — they really reduced the amount of product you get and upped the price. It takes me awhile to get through a concealer (read: never), but I imagine for more dedicated concealer users, it can get pricey real quick. (It used to be $32 for 7ml as compared to $38 for 1.5ml!) I can get down with new packaging costs, upward costs, but this was a severe reduction in quantity (it’s not just 10%, it’s 7ml to 1.5ml — 5.5ml less!) along with a significant increase in price (it’s not just $1, it’s $6). If it was the same as it was before, in terms of quality, it might still be worth it, but it’s not! Bobbi Brown is not YSL (the most direct comparison I could find), which is $40 for 2.5 ml, so I wouldn’t expect Bobbi Brown to be priced higher than YSL (by the ml).
It performs nicely–it brightens and lightens my under eye enough to give me a fresher, more awake appearance. It doesn’t settle into fine lines or crease throughout the day, which are definitely two important necessities when it comes to an under eye concealer! It’s a little on the thin side, though, so while it certainly feels lightweight, those with darker under eye circles may find this doesn’t give them enough coverage.
I would skip this, to be honest. It’s not quite as good as the pot version, plus with the price increase and severe quantity decrease, it’s not good enough to fork over $38 for it. Though I haven’t tried it myself, I’ve heard good things about Bobbi Brown’s Creamy Concealer, so I’d probably recommend that if you were looking for a concealer from Bobbi Brown! Surprisingly, the Bobbi Brown website has a review system in place, and based on 52 reviews, the new Tinted Eye Brightener only has 3 stars–the Creamy Concealer has 282 reviews and 5 stars!
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 25/30
- Value: 4/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 3/5
Recommendation: Keep the new packaging in mind–it may or may not be your cup of tea; and the price may keep you on the hunt for a different concealer–maybe Bobbi’s Creamy Concealer instead…
Givenchy Pearl Shine Rouge Interdit Shine Lipstick ($27.00) is an extremely sheer bright white-gold shimmered lipstick. This is the equivalent of the ultra sheer lipgloss that just adds a glossy sheen to your lips — because that’s about all this lipstick does for me. It’s kind of cool to look at, and on lips, it’s definitely a shimmery/frosty confection, but there’s no real color to it. I found it’s a lipstick you use to layer under lipglosses, but it’s not really something I’d wear alone.
It’s hydrating and has a fun, glossy sheen, but without the color, this lipstick falls flat, and for $27 and not even a smidgen of color? I don’t know if it’s worth it. I tried layering it underneath Givenchy’s Tender Pearl Lipgloss (also from the same collection), and it really didn’t add as much as I had hoped for. It adds a little extra shimmer here and there, but the gloss could have just as easily stood alone.
This lipstick gives “sheer” a new meaning, and while I can handle sheer, this seems a little too sheer even for sheer fans. I’m not sure if it’s a “shade” or we should just chalk it up to sheerness, so I’m a bit troubled by how to rate this product overall. (If it’s more of a shade issue, I don’t rate a product down simply because I don’t dig the shade personally.)
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 23/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’re looking for a layering shade chocked full of shimmer… this might be it!
Availability: Sephora
Benefit BADgal Liner (Waterproof) ($20.00) is a medium black pencil liner designed to be smudgeproof and waterproof. It’s a follow-up release to the original BADgal liner, which many had trouble getting to really stick on the lash line.
While the newer Waterproof version is longer lasting in comparison to the original formula, it’s not quite waterproof enough. I guess, in that sense, it sort of fails to live up to its name, because I do find that it can be smudged a bit with watery eyes. I think the average person may find this to be long-wearing and smudge and water resistant, but it’s certainly not going to pass the cry test. It’s also not something that lasts well on my waterline (but so little does, and most liners are never touted as waterline safe…).
Personally, it lasts for hours on my lower lash line with little smudging and definitely no creasing or serious migration. My eyes aren’t, though, watery on a regular basis, but I happened to wear this while suffering some seasonal allergies (pollen, dust, and the like) and found it just didn’t hold up well. When it gets hit by tears/water, it has a tendency to smudge a bit. Now, don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t start cascading down your face or anything! It does stay within a tolerable distance from where I originally put it, but for something called Waterproof, I expect just that.
I do like that the liner itself is double-ended; it has the liner on one side and a sponge smudger on the other, so it can really give you a quick and dirty sultry eye on a whim. (Really, just smoking out the lower and upper lash lines can add drama to eyes–even if you don’t wear any eyeshadow!) It’s slim and portable, and the formula itself is very creamy and easy to apply… but I just wish it was truly waterproof — I’d describe it more as a water-resistant formula, so it’s like 80% there.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 22/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you don’t have watery eyes and like a soft, medium black, BADgal liner (Waterproof) might be a match for you.
Availability: BenefitCosmetics.com
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Cremesheen Glasses: Ever So Rich, Boy Bait, Partial to Pink
MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: Cremesheen Glasses
If you’ve been in the MAC-know for the past year, you probably remember the original launch of the Cremesheen Glasses. The three released with the holiday collection are all repromotes from that launch, so this is your chance to a) stock up if you loved them; b) try them if you passed on them before; or c) save money because you already have/skipped them. I don’t personally love Cremesheen Glasses, as I find them too sheer to bother (they nearly all looked the same on my lips), but I know others love the formula — which is non-sticky, thick, and creamy.
- Ever So Rich is a pale lilac that goes on like a sheer, milky pinky-purple.
- Boy Bait is a sheer pinky-peach. This looks just like a milky nude on me (not particularly flattering).
- Partial to Pink is a sheer medium pink. Like Boy Bait, this looks mostly like a milky pink on me.
You can view the lip swatches I did originally. These just aren’t my thing, but I also think I’m slightly allergic to these (they make my lips tingle and itch), so there’s even less reason for me to like them. I think Ever So Rich is the only shade that I’d feel compelled to get, but I know that has to do with the way it looks in the tube and not so much on my lips.
- Product: 24/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
See swatches… Continue reading →
